← From the Kitchen

No. 19

Groundnut Soup with Fufu

Fufu from scratch, and a mild cyanide scare.

A bowl of groundnut soup with chicken around a mound of fufu

Adapted fromFufu from cassava & plantain (YouTube) ↗

I feel like my plating has gotten progressively worse week by week.

This was fun. The only West African dish I’d made before was jollof rice, so this was a step up. I couldn’t find plantain flour, and cassava flour was like 25 bucks at Whole Foods, so I found a recipe for making fufu from a cassava root and a plantain.

I think I remember an episode of House where they said cassava can be poisonous if it isn’t prepared correctly, something like cyanide poisoning. So if you haven’t heard from me recently… maybe call the cops for a welfare check.

Anywho, the rest of the dish was surprisingly simple. I added scotch bonnet for heat (I see you, Nigeria) and leg quarters for protein, browned the legs, and let it stew until it was fall-off-the-bone done.

“If you haven't heard from me recently… maybe call the cops for a welfare check.”

Vibes · cook to this

Be My Lover

La Bouche

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The recipe

The recipe I started from. (My version made the fufu from a cassava root and a plantain instead of flour, and added scotch bonnet and chicken leg quarters.)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cassava flour
  • 2 cups plantain flour
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Equipment: large pot, wooden spoon, mixing bowl.

Directions

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine the cassava flour and plantain flour. Gradually add water and mix until a smooth dough forms.
  2. In a large pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the dough and stir continuously until it thickens and becomes smooth. This is the fufu.
  3. In another pot, heat some oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook until the onion is translucent.
  4. Add the cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Cook another minute.
  5. Add the peanut butter and stir until it melts.
  6. Add the stock and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
  7. Blend until smooth, with an immersion blender or in a blender.
  8. Add the chopped peanuts and cilantro and stir well.
  9. Serve the soup with the fufu.

Time: 20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking.