Hibiscus: Discover Fresh Flavours from West Africa with the Observer Rising Star of Food 2017. Lope Ariyo
to mink-brown when mixed with a liquid, which makes a great colour for crackers. These are slightly more effort than their store-bought alternatives, but they’re totally worth it. Although simple, they’re very moreish, and the onion topping is the perfect accompaniment.
PREP TIME: 25 MINS PLUS COOLING TIME
COOKING TIME: 25 MINS
MAKES: 12–16
200g dried yam flour
1 tsp onion granules
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 large egg
coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
FOR THE ONION TOPPING
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 white onion, finely sliced
1 red onion, finely sliced
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp carob powder
1 Scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded (if preferred) and chopped
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.
In a large bowl, combine the yam flour, onion granules, thyme and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, egg and 1 tsp water. Stir the egg mix into the yam flour until well combined and then, using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a slightly wet, sticky dough.
Cut two large sheets of baking paper and sandwich the dough between them. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 2mm thick. Carefully remove the top layer of paper and cut the dough into rectangles measuring about 8 x 5cm. Discard the scrap edges and sprinkle the crackers with some coarse sea salt.
Transfer the entire baking paper sheet to a baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes until crisp. Take the crackers out of the oven and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
While the crackers are baking, heat the groundnut oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, shallot and garlic and fry for 10 minutes until they are soft before adding the ginger, turmeric and carob powder. Add the Scotch bonnet to the pan, stir, and cook for a final minute before removing from the heat. Cover with a lid to keep warm.
Once the crackers are cooled, separate each rectangle and spread with the onion topping to serve.
My mum’s Sunday roast dinners were the dishes that I ate most fervently. Once in a while, she would switch it up by adding the vegetables you’d expect to see from a Nigerian meal. My favourite parts were always the potatoes because of how much their crisp exterior contrasted with the fluffy interior. I didn’t think I could eat anything fluffier until the day she swapped the potatoes for yams. Occasionally at university, when I had the energy to make the trek to the African food shop at the far end of town, I would gather the vegetables that weren’t so easy to find in supermarkets – or were available there at a much lower price – and make this dish. Sundays were the quiet days when it was easy to remember everything you missed, but preparing this made me feel connected to home.
PREP TIME: 20 MINS
COOKING TIME: 50 MINS
SERVES: 4
1/4 large puna yam, peeled and chopped
2 red onions, quartered
4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 salad tomatoes, quartered
16 okra fingers, halved lengthways
3 garden eggs (here) or 1 small aubergine, sliced into 1cm thick slices
1 yellow plantain, peeled and sliced diagonally
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 tsp thyme leaves
salt and cayenne pepper
Bell Pepper Soup (Obe Ata), to serve
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Fill a large saucepan with water and when boiling, add the chopped yam. Simmer for 5 minutes and then drain.
In a mixing bowl, drizzle the yam and onions with 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil and sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Place the yam and onion flat on a baking tray then cover with foil and place the tray just below the middle shelf in the oven. Roast for 25 minutes until the yams are knife tender.
Meanwhile, in the same bowl as before, toss the tomatoes, okra, garden eggs or aubergine, plantain and peppers, together with the remaining coconut oil, the thyme and some salt and cayenne pepper. Once the vegetables are well coated, spread them out on a baking tray, making sure they don’t overlap.
When the yams and onions have had 25 minutes, remove the foil and return to the oven to cook for a further 20–25 minutes until nicely browned and crisping around the edges. At the same time, put the tray with the tomato mixture on the shelf just above the middle of the oven. Let this set of vegetables roast for 10–12 minutes before turning with tongs and then putting them back in for a further 10–12 minutes until they start to shrivel and soften.
Serve the roasted veg warm with Bell Pepper Soup (Obe Ata).
SWEET POTATO MEDLEY WITH A TARRAGON DRESSING
In Nigeria, white-flesh sweet potatoes are eaten much more commonly than their orange-flesh counterparts. Usually, they’re boiled and served with eggs or they’re added to soups to give them more body. In the UK, they can be found in supermarkets as well as African or Asian stores. I love their fluffy, melt-in-the-mouth texture and didn’t realize how perfectly they are accompanied by tarragon until I tried this dressing.
PREP TIME: 15 MINS
COOKING TIME: 30 MINS
SERVES: 4
groundnut oil, for roasting
8 small white-flesh sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large orange-flesh sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 tsp ground cloves
4 tsp onion granules
salt and white pepper (or black if you don’t have white)
a squeeze of lemon juice, to serve