With temperatures hovering around freezing over the last few days we could think of nothing better than a delicious home-made, spicy soup to debut our regular recipe feature. We are thrilled to launch the series with a delightful recipe from the one and only Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen.
Zoe Adjonyoh is a leading voice for Ghanaian cuisine in London and her pop-up restaurant and supper club has been making waves in the foodie scene, helping to bring traditional and contemporary African foods to a wider audience. If we’ve whetted your appetite for Zoe’s cuisine, then check out her long term pop up residency at Pop Up Brixton (visit the website for details).
This enterprising lady also has a cookbook in the works. Look out for Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, published by Octopus, launching this April 2017.
Send us pictures of your cooking efforts to: info@melanmag.com and we’ll post them on our social media J
GROUNDNUT SOUP WITH CHICKEN
2kg mixed bone-in chicken pieces
500-750ml water or good-quality chicken stock
1 onion, finely diced
5cm (2-inch) piece fresh root ginger, grated (unpeeled if organic)
1 garlic clove, crushed
8 green kpakpo shito (cherry) chillies, or substitute 1 or 2 Scotch Bonnet chillies, pierced, according to desired level of heat
1 tablespoon extra-hot chilli powder
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
500ml (18fl oz) uncooked Chalé Sauce (see below)
100–200g (31⁄2–7oz) organic peanut butter, depending on how thick you want it
1 red Scotch Bonnet chilli, pierced
3 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts, to garnish
2 or 3 Spring onion tried and sliced julienne, to garnish
Place the chicken pieces into a large, heavy-based saucepan, cover with the measured water or stock and add the onion, ginger, garlic, kpakpo shito chillies, chilli powder, curry powder, sea salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over a medium heat for 25 minutes until the chicken juices run clear, skimming off any froth that rises to the surface.
Stir in the chalé sauce and then add the peanut butter 1 tablespoon at a time while stirring until it has all dissolved. Add the pierced Scotch Bonnet and cook for a further 45 minutes – 1 hour over a low heat, stirring regularly so that the sauce doesn’t stick to the pan, until the peanut oil has separated and risen to the top, which means that it’s done. You should have a soupy consistency and super-tender meat falling away from the bone.
Serve with Fufu and crushed roasted peanuts or garri sprinkled on top.
FUFU – serves 4
115g (4oz) plantain fufu flour
250ml (9 oz) water, very warm or just boiled and slightly cooled
Put the flour in a small saucepan, mix in half of the measured water and stir into a thick paste.
Place the pan over a low heat and slowly add the rest of the water, stirring continuously and smoothing out any lumps with the back of a wooden spoon (the low heat will absorb the last of the moisture).
CHALE SAUCE – makes 500ml
400g (14oz) can tomatoes or 250g (9oz) fresh tomatoes
30g (1oz) or 2 tablespoons tomato purée 1 onion, roughly chopped 5cm (2-inch) piece fresh root ginger, grated (unpeeled if organic)
1 red Scotch Bonnet chilli, deseeded 1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 garlic cloves (optional) TO COOK
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon extra-hot chilli powder
Place all the ingredients except the ‘to cook’ ones in a blender and blend together until you have a fairly smooth paste. This is your uncooked chalé sauce.
For cooked chalé sauce, heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan, add the onion and sauté over a medium heat for a few minutes until softened. Then add the curry powder and chilli powder and stir thoroughly to coat the onion evenly. Add the blended tomato mixture and simmer gently for 35–40 minutes.
Contact Zoe:
Website: zoesghanakitchen.co.uk
@zoeadjonyoh
@ghanakitchen on Instagram and twitter
Pre-order: Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen Cookbook
Recipe and images copyright Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen Ltd 2017
