Fish Stew With Rice

http://www.congocookbook.com/rare_recipes/barbara_krauss.html

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices onion
• 5 tablespoons oil
• 3 level tablespoons tomato concentrate
• 2 & 1/2 lb. fish, boned and cut in large pieces
• 1 & 1/2 pints water
• 2 level teaspoons salt
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1/2 lb. cabbage, shredded
• 2 small sweet potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 lb. okra (1/2 packet frozen okra)
• 1 lb. cooked rice

Directions:

Cook onion in hot oil in a 6-pint saucepan until yellow but not brown; add tomato concentrate and fish.

Cover and cook over low heat for 1/2 hour. Add water, salt and vegetables to fish mixture; cook gently for 1 hour.

Place a portion of rice in the centre of a soup bowl or plate; ladle stew over rice, serving some fish, vegetables and sauce.

Ground Nut Chop

http://www.congocookbook.com/rare_recipes/florence_arfmann.html

Ingredients:

• Chicken
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Bone Stock
• Ground nuts (peanuts)
• Okoro (garden egg)
• Eggs [hard-boiled]
• Rice [boiled]

Directions:

Fry the dismembered chicken with tomatoes and onions. Then put in a saucepan with stock and leave. Grind up ground nuts to a fine texture, mix into a paste with a little water and add to the chicken. Heat it all up and let it thicken. Add 2 or 3 okoro, and two or three hard-boiled egg (1 per head). The stew is served in soup plates over a foundation of rice, according to one's appetite. The side dishes then put in an appearance and are put on the table in small plates or saucers:

• Sliced raw pineapple
• Roasted ground nuts (whole and powdered)
• Sliced orange
• Fried onions
• Raw sliced onions
• Sliced tomato
• Slice fresh bananas, sliced fried bananas
• Paw Paw (native melon)
• Grated coconut (raw and baked)
• Grated ginger
• Ground dry red and green peppers

Mix all this conglomeration together, not forgetting salt, and eat it.

Ndolé (Bitterleaf) Soup

http://www.congocookbook.com/soup_and_stew_recipes/ndole_soup.html

Ndolé (or N'Dolé, or Ndole) is a hearty soup from Cameroon. It is made from a variety of ingredients that, for the non-African, might seem to be an odd combination. Look for bitterleaf and dried shrimp in international grocery stores. As the name implies, the bitterleaf (also called bitter leaf) adds a distinctive flavor to the soup, but if none is available substitute spinach or other greens. Skip the optional ingredients to make the most basic Ndolé soup.

Ingredients:

• two to four cups fresh or dried bitterleaf (bitter leaf), or several cups of spinach, or similar greens (kale, collards, or turnip greens are good) -- a combination of various greens and spinach can also be used
• two cups fresh shrimp or prawns, or one cup dried shrimp or prawns -- crabs could be substituted
• two pounds dried, salted, or smoked fish (such as cod) -- or -- one pound of dried/salted/smoked fish and one pound of either stew meat, oxtail, or chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• two cups raw shelled peanuts (or a cup of peanut butter and a cup of hot water)
• one chopped onion
• two teaspoon of fresh ginger root, finely minced (optional)
• two cloves garlic, finely minced
• six ripe tomatoes, chopped and mashed may be peeled if desired (or canned tomatoes)
• one-half teaspoon thyme (optional)
• one-half teaspoon rosemary (optional)
• one green bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• one chile pepper, chopped (optional)
• four cups of chicken broth or chicken stock, or beef broth or beef stock, or Maggi® cubes dissolved in water
• palm oil or vegetable oil for frying
• salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper (to taste)

Directions:

• If you are using dried or fresh bitterleaf, wash it in cold water, rinsing several times, and allow it to soak for at least a few hours, then chop it into pieces.
  If you are using spinach leaves, clean and chop them immediately before cooking the soup.
  If you are using any other greens (such as kale or collard greens), clean, chop, and parboil them briefly before cooking the soup.
• Marinate the shrimp (or prawns) for a few hours in a paste made from half the minced ginger, half the chopped onion, and a little oil. If using dried shrimp, add a little water.
• Soak the dried/salted fish in water for a few hours. After you have started cooking the soup cut the fish into pieces and remove any skin or bones.
• If using fresh peanuts: Remove the skins from the peanuts. (It might help to boil them for a few minutes first.) Crush or chop the peanuts and then simmer them in two cups of water for about an hour. Add water if necessary. After they have cooked, crush them into a smooth paste.
• If using beef or chicken: Fry the meat in a skillet and then add a cup of appropriate stock, broth, or Maggi cubes and water. Set aside.
• Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large pot and fry the remaining onions, garlic, ginger, rosemary and thyme for a few minutes. Then add the tomatoes and reduce heat to a simmer for several minutes.
• Add the bitterleaf (or greens) to the pot. Stir and simmer for several minutes more.
• Add the cooked peanut paste (or peanut butter and hot water). Stir and continue to cook the soup at a simmer.
• Add the fish (and any other meat) to the pot, along with the green pepper, and any hot chile pepper, salt, and red or black pepper you think it needs. Cover the pot and continue to cook over low heat.
• When the greens seem tender (after thirty minutes to an hour), heat oil in a skillet and stir fry the shrimp (or prawns) along with their marinade. Add them to the soup.
• Cook soup (adding water or stock if desired) until it is the consistency you like.
• Serve with Baton de Manioc (also called Chikwangue), Fufu, or boiled Yam or potato.

Mbanga (Palm Nut) Soup

http://www.congocookbook.com/soup_and_stew_recipes/mbanga_soup.html

Made from the fruit of the African oil palm, Mbanga soup is Cameroon's version of West Africa's palm nut (or palm butter) soup. In Africa, use fresh palm nuts; out of Africa, use canned palm nut pulp.

Ingredients:

• fresh palm nuts, or canned palm nut pulp (also called palm soup base sauce graine, noix de palme, or cream of palm fruit)
• one-half pound fresh fish, cleaned and cut into pieces
• one onion, chopped
• one clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• one beef bouillon cube or one or two Maggi® cube
• one hot chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
• one pound smoked or dried fish (stockfish or similar), skin and bones removed, rinsed with water
• two tablespoons dried prawns or dried shrimp, ground into powder

Directions:

• If using fresh palm nuts, process them as described on the Moambé Sauce / Nyembwe Sauce recipe page.
• In a large pot, bring four cups of water to a boil. Add fresh fish, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, bouillon cube or Maggi® cube, and chile pepper (of desired). Reduce heat, and simmer for ten minutes.
• Add (canned or fresh) palm nut pulp and continue to simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for another ten minutes.
• Add smoked or dried fish and dried prawns or shrimp. Simmer for another ten minutes or until soup is thickened to your liking. Adjust seasoning.
• Serve over boiled Rice, Yams, or Plantains; or Fufu.
  

This soup can also be made with greens. Greens that need long cooking time (e.g., cassava leaves, kale) should be added at the beginning; spinach can be added at the end. See Greens in Africa.

Poulet DG (Poulet Directeur Général)

http://www.congocookbook.com/chicken_recipes/poulet_dg.html

At the risk of generalizing, it seems that Africans possess a talent for finding just the right nickname for a thing. This fricassee of chicken, vegetables, and savory spices is called Poulet DG, pronounced the French way, "day-zjay", bien sûr! Poulet DG, a favorite restaurant dish among the movers and shakers (les grands types) of Cameroon, is Poulet Directeur Général: poulet (chicken) for le Directeur Général (the big boss). Bon appétit.

Ingredients:

• one chicken, cut into serving-sized
• one-quarter cup oil
• salt and black pepper to taste
• one Maggi® cube and/or a one-inch piece of fresh ginger root (peeled and minced) or a teaspoon of powdered ginger and/or fresh herbs of your choice (parsley, celery leaf, etc.)
• one garlic clove, minced
• two carrots, chopped
• haricots verts or thin French green beans, ends trimmed (optional)
• two or three sweet peppers (bell peppers): green, yellow, orange, or red, cleaned and chopped (optional)
• two tomatoes, chopped or canned tomatoes (optional)
• one onion, chopped

Directions:

• If desired: Combine chicken, a tablespoon of oil, spices, carrots, green beans, and peppers in a bowl. (It's better to have most of the "optional" ingredients; carrots and bell peppers are the most common, tomatoes the least common.) Stir well. Let marinate for one to three hours.
• Heat remaining oil in a very large skillet or dutch oven. Add onions and fry briefly, until they begin to become translucent. Add chicken and fry over high heat until lightly browned.
• Add remaining ingredients, except tomatoes which should be saved for last. Reduce heat. Do not cover.
• Simmer, stirring regularly, until chicken is done and liquid partly evaporated, leaving some sauce. (Add warm water by the tablespoon if the pot becomes dry before the chicken is done.) Add tomatoes (if desired), and simmer for a few minutes more.
• Serve with Rice, Miondo (Cameroon's version of Baton de Manioc & Chikwangue), and Fried Plantains.

The Poulet DG can be mixed with the fried plantains immediately before serving.

Fried Fish in Peanut Sauce

http://www.congocookbook.com/fish_and_seafood_recipes/fried_fish_in_peanut_sauce.html

This recipe, from Cameroon, is made with a fish called the daurade (or dorade, similar to the porgy or sea bream) in a peanut sauce.

Ingredients:

• palm oil
• one whole fish (daurade, porgy, bream, or similar), washed, patted dry, and cut into serving size pieces (save the head)
• two or three cloves of garlic, minced
• one spoonful coriander
• one-half spoonful ground ginger
• one-half spoonful nutmeg, grated
• salt (to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)
• smoked or dried shrimp or prawns (or fish); half of it ground into powder and half for garnish
• peanut oil
• one onion, finely sliced
• one to three chile peppers, cleaned
• one cup peanut butter (natural or homemade)

Directions:

• Heat a few spoonfuls of palm oil in a skillet. Fry the fish and half of the garlic on both sides until done. Set aside on absorbent paper.
• Grind together the coriander, ginger, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and half the dried shrimp (or fish).
• In a saucepan bring four cups of water to a boil. Add the fish head and the spices and ground dried shrimp (or fish). Reduce heat and let simmer.
• Heat a few spoonfuls of peanut oil in a clean skillet. Fry onion and remaining garlic until browned. Add chile pepper. Reduce heat. Add the fried fish to the onion-garlic mixture.
• Remove fish head from broth. Strain broth if desired. Add peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Simmer over low heat until it is thickened into a sauce. Pour the thickened sauce into the skillet over the fish and onions. Add remaining dried shrimp (of fish). Simmer together for a few minutes.
• Serve fish and sauce over boiled Rice, with boiled Plantains on the side. The cooked chile peppers can be served or discarded as desired.