On finding West African ingredients

It's exciting to see North Americans (and Europeans) embracing West African food! Unfortunately, many of us do not live in large urban areas where we can easily locate some of the unfamiliar ingredients. Last week I made a trip to our local international market here in State College, Pennsylvania, for a spontaneous, quick runthrough of some items locally available. I was rushing, and missed many things (like cream of palm fruit aka palm butter) in the store and also cannot believe some of the words that came out of my mouth, such as saying "coconut paste" when I meant "groundnut (peanut) paste," and holding some Ga kenkey and saying it is fermented corn dough rather than that it is made from steamed fermented corn dough (with a bit of cassava dough, too). I spoke about "dried fish powder" when it would have been better to say "dried flaked fish/shrimp."

Still, I hope you find it helpful, especially if you are exploring recipes from The Ghana Cookbook.

And remember, too, that as North American tastes are changing, it is getting easier and easier to find many of these ingredients in local supermarkets, from millet flour to fresh coconut to red palm oil to taro (Ghanaians call it "cocoyam") to plantains or fresh papaya. I find many of them in our local Wegman's, Giant, Trader Joe's, Weis, or even Wal-Mart.
(Hint: there's a recipe in the book that calls for smoked turkey, which is only available around here at Christmas, so this time of year might be a good time to try it out!)


                                                                           
Note: Thank you to students Nick Weis and Jessica Stefanowiz, both from Happy Valley Communications for running video and helping set up, respectively, and for owner Jin Zhou for allowing us to film in The International Market

Recipe #19: Roasted ripe plantain snack

I've already enthused about ripe plantains.
If you're interested in a healthy snack that's naturally low in sodium, but high in potassium, vitamins B6 and C and fiber, and heartier than bananas, here's an easy recipe: roasted ripe plantain.

You'll need an oven to make this (or a toaster oven).






1. First, get a ripe plantain per person. This may take some planning.
2. Preheat your oven to high (425 degrees F)
3. Wash the plantain, then make a horizontal slit along one side
4. Put the plantain on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. The peeling will become very dark, but the plantain inside will not burn.
5. Remove the cookie sheet and set it on a heatproof surface. Remember the plantain will be very hot, so let it cool a little before carefully peeling it and serving it on a plate.

While I like my roasted plantains "naked" they can also be eaten with peanuts or a sauce (when my unconventional son DK was young, he used to dip ihem in ketchup). When accompanied with a stew, of course, it is no longer a snack.

There are many variations to this: you could also cut the unpeeled plantain into 4 or 6 pieces and bake the same way. If you grease the cookie sheet lightly first, you can place sliced peeled plantains on it. This makes for a different texture, since the plantains are browned on the outside. Finally, you can cook plantains in the microwave, but I greatly prefer them cooked in the oven.