“Taste Africa in Style” Plantain FUFU with Sea Food Light Soup

                “Taste Africa in Style”

                            with

                     Afia Annebasua

This dish is my twist to a traditional African Ghanian dish. Really is a fantastic healthy comfort food, for a winter night or for me anytime of the year. Have this for your dinner guest and they will love it!

PLANTAIN FUFU WITH SEA FOOD LIGHT SOUP
TOTAL TIME 55 min.
Cook: 45 min.
Prep: 10 min.
Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 12 little neck clams
• 12 Mussels
• 1/2 cup bunashimeji or oyster mushrooms, slice the oyster mushroom
• 1/2 Ginger peeled
• 6 shrimp peeled and deveined
• 4 Mid size tomatoes sliced thick
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large eggplant sliced thick
• about A pinch of habanero pepper powder. You don’t have to
• 2 Garlic clove peeled
• one Large jalapeno pepper. Take Seeds out if you don’t like the pepper heat.
• one Large red onion peeled and sliced thick
• 15 to 16 cups of water
• fresh African basil or basil
• fresh leaves thym
• 8 ounces wild caught fresh snapper salmon fillets, keep skin or skin removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 large Green plantains peeled and cut each into five pieces
• salt And black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
To make the soup: in a large saucepan over low heat, combine the onions,tomatoes,garlic,ginger,eggplant and pepper. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes. Take it off heat. Put it into a blender and blend until it all become smooth. Strain the mixer pour it into a large sauce pot and back on the stove.

Turn the heat on high. Add thym, about 14 cups of water, salt and black pepper to taste. Bring it to boil. Cook for about 3 minute. Cover and lower the heat to low,and let it cook for 25 minute.

Plantain fufu: In a deep pot over medium heat add the plantains a cup of water cover and bring to boil. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 8 minutes. Drain the water and let the plantain set to cool for about 15 seconds. Mushed the plantains in a large mortar using a pestle. Add the plantain one at a time. If need be use a spoon to push it together. Add about 2 table spoon of water to the dough. One at a time.

You want the texture to become like a sticky dough, like a fluffy cooked gnocchi. If need be add more water until you get the texture. Wipe a large plate with a little olive oil. Dip a table spoon into a glass of water. Use the spoon to scoop the plantain fufu and drop it on the plate. Each time you scoop make sure you dip the spoon in water first. You don’t want the dough to
stick to the spoon. You going to need about 16 or more of the scoop fufu.

Meanwhile add the fish and mushroom to the soup. Cook for about 4 minutes, add the clams. Cook for about 1 minutes add the mussels and cook for three minute or until the mussels and clams are open. Discard any that did not open on their own. Add the shrimp cook for about another 1 minutes. Add the basil. Taste and season with salt if needed. Take it off heat drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Note: You can also use plantain powder. In a kettle boil about 3 cups of water. In a deep port or bowl. Slowly add the hot water to 2 cups of plantain powder. Stir with flat wooding spoon. Keep adding the water and stir until it becomes the sticky dough texture you want.

About Afia Annebasua
I was born on a Friday in Accra Ghana. Tradition says, if you are born on Friday, your first name will be Afia.
Growing up with my mother, older brother Dela, and two older sisters Belinda and Evelyn we cooked everything from scratch. Since the age of seven I found myself in the kitchen much of the time helping cook traditional meals with the family.

After receiving a degree in fashion, I moved to the United States. Still craving the foods I grew up with, it was difficult to find all of the ingredients to prepare traditional meals. I remember calling my brother Dela in Ghana complaining about missing our favorite foods such as African yams. His answer was “Eat Potatoes”. That was unacceptable to me!

Also somewhere along the way I became health conscious and wanted to prepare healthier dishes. So, what is an African girl out of Africa to do? I took big brother’s advice and developed my own way of preparing African cuisine a with fresh, healthy, delicious, and flavorful exotic style. I had to improvise with some traditional ingredients while sticking with the traditional recipes and adding a modern twist.

Being fashion conscience, I like to blend current trends with African culture. Those who know me will agree that I’m eclectic in my style, that fashion and design are a big part of my lifestyle. You see it in the way I decorate my home and the way I blend styles of the old and the new with a sense of African culture.

“Taste Africa in Style” is about a life style. It shows my great passion for blending African tradition with modern style and allows me to share my love of cooking traditional, healthy, and tasty meals. My hope is that people will be able see the beauty of “Taste Africa in Style” as I do. Enjoy!

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