BUKA STEW RECIPE

'Buka' is a slow cooked, smoky tomato and pepper stew which is popular amongst Nigerians and a perfect accompaniment to most African dishes. The sauce can be cooked with any preferred meat, boiled eggs and offal, (tripe etc).

 The secret to making the best smoky Buka from my perspective, is by using a clay pot and slow cooking the sauce to a rich dark sauce. The classic recipe requires more palm oil than my recommendation, however I prefer to use less oil in most of my dishes. In my next recipe I use the smoky Buka sauce for Jollof rice. 

Ingredients;

Serves 8

3 red bell peppers 

1 green bell pepper

3 large red onions

2 habanero chillies

15g ginger (optional)

4 large sun ripened tomatoes

2 tablespoons of spicy Palm oil ( Zomi)

2 Shrimp cubes

Salt to taste

Method;

Blend together the onions, ginger, shrimp cubes and chilli

In a clay pot/ saucepan melt the palm oil till it just begins to smoke. The clay pot gives the stew it's  smoky flavour.

 Lower the heat and add the onion and chilli paste. 

Don't rinse the blender at this stage, as you will blend the other ingredients later. 

Cook the mixture on a slow heat for about 15 minutes, making sure you stir the mixture constantly, to avoid burning the sauce.

In the blender, add the red pepper, green pepper and tomatoes and blend to a smooth paste. 

Add the red pepper mix to the reduced sauce, adding a bit of water to clean the blender, pouring the contents into the saucepan and cook slowly (35 -45 min) till you have a richer and darker sauce. 

At this stage you can add your preferred cooked meat and it's juices to the sauce. 

Cook for a further 10 -12 minutes.

Add salt to taste and serve. This mixture can keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or freeze for not more than 3 months. 

I prefer to make my Buka stew in a big batch without any meat, serve into batches and freeze. This allows me to use different meats with my Buka sauce. 

Best with rice and black eyed beans. 

All photos are by the owner of this blog. 

Masa (The African crumpet)

Masa is made from rice and it's synonymous to the Hausa's in West Africa. This is a savoury recipe and it's perfect as a gluten free base for most Canapés. Enjoy!

Ingredients;

Serves 8 

1 cup of rice flour or 1 cup of soaked rice overnight 

1 cup of cooked rice 

1.5 cups of water

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda

1 teaspoon of dry yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar 

2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt

2 ground shallots into a smooth paste

Salt 

Rapeseed oil or vegetable oil for frying

Method :

In a bowl, add the lukewarm water, sugar,  dry yeast and bicarbonate soda and mix well. Leave the mixture for about 20min till it froths. 

Add the  soaked rice or rice flour, cooked rice and yeast mix to a blender

Blend into a smooth paste and transfer into a bowl.

Cover the bowl and leave the mixture in a warm place to proof (double or triple in size), which takes about 7-10 hrs, (where you can see bubbles forming) 

Once the Masa mix has proofed, then add the onion paste, yoghurt and salt to taste. 

Stir till well combined  and follow any of the processes 

below. 

To bake Masa

Pre heat the oven to 180*c. 

Oil muffin tins and place in the oven for 5 minutes

Take the muffin tin out of the oven and pour the Masa mix to a third full. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside and moist inside. 

Serve as an alternative to your Yorkshire pudding for a perfect Sunday roast. 

To pan fry Masa 

Add a teaspoon of oil to a frying pan and place on a medium heat. 

Pour a ladle of the Masa mix to the frying pan and fry gently for 3 minutes on each side. 

Using a round biscuit cutter, cut the pancakes into round shapes. 

The excess left should be placed in the oven for 30 minutes at 160*c. This will serve as a perfect crunchy snack. 

To serve:

This recipe makes a crunchy gluten free base for canapés and it's best served warm. 

 I used the Masa base to make this mushroom and pardon pepper canapé

All photos are by the owner of this blog. 

Seared Scallops with butternut squash (Pétoncles poêlés avec courge musquée)

Serve this flavourful and colourful starter for your Valentine's dinner for the ultimate tongue pleasing experience. Follow my Instagram page 'ndudu_by_fafa' for videos or on Facebook 'Antoinette Gilbert Creative Cooking'. 

Ingredients

Serves 2

6 hand dived Scallops

4 slices of smoked Prosciutto 

15g of crushed toasted hazelnut

200g of diced butternut squash 

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

1 medium finely diced shallot

1 teaspoon of butter

Salt and pepper to taste. 

Method:

Place the smoked Prociutto on a roasting tray and in a pre- heated oven of 160*c for 10 minutes and set aside. 

Place the butternut squash in a Tupperware and microwave for about 7-8 minutes or until soft, when you pierce with a fork. 

Alternatively steam the butter nut squash till it's soft ( for about 8-10 minutes). I prefer any of the above methods as the butternut squash cooks in it's own juices and enhances it's natural flavour. 

Mash the butternut squash to a smooth puree.

Place a frying pan on a medium heat and add half the butter and olive oil. 

Add the Scallops and fry for 1 minute on one side and 30 seconds when you turn it over. Turn the heat off and leave the scallops for another 15 seconds and toss. 

Remove the Scallops from the frying pan and set aside in a bowl. 

Add the remaining olive oil and butter to the frying pan and gently fry the shallots for about 2 minutes. 

Add the fried onions to the butternut squash puree and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 To serve, scoop a portion of the butternut squash purée into a bowl, add the seared scallops, the crispy smoked Prosciutto and sprinkle with the crushed hazelnut. 

Enjoy!

All photos are by the owner of this blog. 

Cauliflower and Granny apple soup

A tasty yin, yang vegetarian soup,perfect for the winter season and a tongue pleaser.  Why not serve your family something different and get them to guess the ingredients. Enjoy this simple to follow recipe and share the recipe. 

Ingredients

250g of washed Cauliflower florets

2 peeled, cored and diced granny apples

1 medium sized chopped leek

1 small chopped shallots

2 cloves of garlic

1 juniper berry

1 teaspoon of olive oil

Half a teaspoon of butter 

10g ginger

500ml of vegetable stock

Method

Place a saucepan on a medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. 

Add the chopped leek, shallot sweat gently for a minute

Add the ginger and cook gently for about 4 minutes.

Add the garlic

Then add the cauliflower and mix well.

Add the vegetable stock and the juniper berry. 

Cook gently for about 10-14minutes or until soft. 

Pour the contents, using a ladle into your blender (taking care not to splash any hot liquid) or alternatively use a handheld blender. 

Blend till it's silky and pour the contents back into the saucepan (if your using the blender).

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with thinly sliced granny apples. Drizzle with olive oil and serve. 

All photos are by the owner of this blog. 

COCONUT INFUSED BLACK EYED BEANS & CRUNCHY PLANTAIN

Black eyed beans are versatile legumes rich in plant protein, iron and zinc. They are inexpensive, delicious and can be cooked in different ways. 

I've always loved the taste of Coconut oil with black eyed beans (which is popular in Ghana). This is a simple Vegan or Vegetarian recipe, which can easily be adapted by  adding (more vegetables or for the meat eaters add their preferred meat) and a perfect dish for your lunch at work. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

500g of cooked black eyed beans (For recipe click here 'Black eyed beans')

3 tablespoons of coconut oil

40g of fresh ginger (you can decrease the amount to your personal preference)

2 large sliced shallots

1 large white onion

5 green chillies

Handful of chopped coriander

Salt

METHOD:

Blend together the onion, chillies and ginger 

Place a saucepan on a medium heat and add the coconut oil. 

Add the sliced shallots and fry for 2-3 minutes

Then add the blended ginger mix 

Cook gently for 8-10 minutes till you have a thick rich paste

Then add your beans and it's juice. Cook gently for 5 minutes. 

Add salt to taste and cook for a further minute. 

Turn the heat off and add the coriander. Mix well and leave to rest for 3 minutes

Serve with crispy fried plantain (Click here for the recipe 'CRISPY FRIED PLANTAIN').

All photos are by the owner and author of this blog. 

Crispy fried Plantain

I had this crispy fried plantain at a restaurant in Barbados (Tides). The waiter was very kind to get me the recipe. I have been craving for a  spicy coconut black eyed beans stew (recipe coming up) and thought of this, as the perfect accompaniment. You can get Plantain in most ethnic shops or from selected Supermarkets. Treat yourself to this vegetarian dish. 

Ingredients

Serves 4

3 large Plantains removed from it's skin and sliced sideways 

500ml Sunflower oil / Rapeseed oil

4 tablespoons of Panko breadcrumbs or Ground cornflakes

Salt

Method:

Place the sliced Plantain in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and mix well. 

In a frying pan add the oil and place on a medium heat

Test the oil is hot by dropping a pinch of bread. 

If it quickly sizzles you know the oil is ready. 

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs or cornflakes (whichever you prefer) and toss the plantain till well coated. 

Carefully put each plantain in the oil (preferably use a ladle) and fry for 2 minutes on one side and 1 minute on the other or until golden brown.

Cover your strainer with a couple of sheets of kitchen paper

Using a slotted ladle, remove the perfectly cooked plantain and place it in your covered strainer. 

Serve warm a Coconut spiced black eyed beans

Recipe coming up!

All photos are by the author of this blog. 

Crunchy and moist stewing steak

Ingredients 

Serves 8

1 kg of diced stewing steak

15g of grated ginger

4 cloves of crushed garlic

3 diced green chilies 

2 large finely diced shallots

1 tablespoon of thyme

1 tablespoon of tarragon 

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Method:

Mix the ginger, garlic, shallot, tarragon, thyme, chillies and olive oil in a bowl 

Add the diced steak to the marinade and mix well. 

Leave to marinade in the fridge for at least 4 hours or better still overnight. 

Preheat your oven to 160*c

Take the meat out of the fridge and leave for about 30min to reach room temperature .

Scoop your meat marinade into your clay pot or casserole  dish and cover with the lid.

Place the meat in the oven and cook slowly for 3 hrs or until it's crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle when you taste. 

Remove your meat from the oven when it's done and leave to rest for about 15 minutes

Scoop the meat into a bowl and sprinkle chopped coriander and spring onions over it and serve with a wedge of lime. 

Enjoy this as a perfect snack or accompaniment to most dishes like rice, Yam, potatoes etc

All photos are by the owner of this blog