GARI PIÑON RECIPE

'Gari Piñon', is basically Gari cooked in a hot stock and mixed with a spicy Tomato stew. This is a popular dish in both Togo and Benin, in West Africa. It was an absolute favourite in my household (thanks to Mum).

Traditionally Meat, Tomatoes, Onions , Stock cube and  Pepper are used in its preparation.

 

I decided to make this quick dish whilst   planting my new herbs in my garden (I'll talk about the herbs another time). 

If you follow me on Instagram you'ld have seen a video of me making this dish. 

 

Gari is to a West African as Couscous is to a Nothern African. Gari is made from fermented grated Cassava, which is then fried till dry. Gari is used in many ways  across West Africa including 'Gari Soakings', Gari Fortor' 'Eba' a perfect addittion to Red Red to mention but a few. 

I've adapted the recipe to my preference by using Fish, however you can use your preferred meat and it's stock in making the traditional version. If you're using meat you need to cook it till it's tender (best to use the tougher cuts of meat for this recipe).

 

It's imperative to use Tomato stew that was prepared over 24hrs ago. I find the flavours of the stew infuse better, a day after cooking. Try it! Try my Tomato stew recipe...

This is a cost effective and quick dish to make. Let's start cooking...

 

Ingredients 

200g of Gari

2 large chopped Red Onions

450g of Tomato stew

400g of grilled and flaked Sea bream/ Tilapia/ Red Snapper /Wild Seabass

200ml of Fish stock

20g of chopped Coriander 

Salt to taste

 

Method

Warm up 350g of the Tomato stew in a saucepan and add the chopped Onions and flaked Fish. 

Fry gently for 5 minutes and add the Gari.

Mix everything together till well combined. Add the fish stock and salt.

Continue to stir till well combined.

Cook gently for 5 minutes until you have a soft and pliable texture.

Take the Gari Piñon off the heat,  add the chopped Coriander and stir till well combined. 

Serve immediately with steamed Vegetables and the remaining stew.

 

Enjoy!

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 
Find more inspiring recipes on my Youtube channel 'Ndudu by Fafa'.