Temitope Sibi de-Medeiros, a food connoisseur tells us about this dish from Togo, one of the West African countries.
Temitope Sibi de-Medeiros was born in the United Kingdom, but now lives in the United States. She also used to run a food service called Ready Steady Barbecue & Grill, when she lived in Nigeria.
Temitope loves African meals, and even though she may be far from Africa, she always does her best to prepare those meals for her family. “I’m based in the South—in Florida—and it’s not a very popular destination for Nigerians, in terms of residing, when compared to places like Houston, Atlanta or even New York. So that makes it difficult to purchase Nigerian food items. Things like Ponmo, Shaki and even local chicken are difficult to find. So typically, I have to visit Caribbean, Hispanic, or Vietnamese stores to purchase ingredients,” she explains.
She is passionate about keeping the culture of West African cuisine alive, and was very happy to share this dish from Togo with us. “It’s a common dish made around Christmas, and is called Hanvi do kpome avec Pinon Djen (literal translation is “Pig in oven with red eba”).
“A whole pig that is seasoned and slathered in sauce, and then cooked or grilled in a traditional oven with coal, after which it is cut up and served with red eba and a spicy sauce. The sauce is similar to the Ghanaian Shito or fresh peppers and onions. The pepper used is a local green pepper called gbo ebese.”
Would you give this recipe a try during the holidays?
The Recipe
Ingredients:
Garri
Pork stock
Ginger & garlic paste
Tomato paste
Oil
Diced onion
Salt
Preparation
- Start with a ¼ cup of oil and add ½ an onion.
- Let this saute till light golden brown.
- Add a cooking spoon of tomato puree and let it fry for about 3 mins over a medium heat.
- Then add 3 cooking spoons of blended tomatoes and pepper, and some of the ground garlic & ginger paste, bouillon cube and salt.
- Let this fry for another 8-10 mins, then add pork /chicken stock and leave it to reach a boil, then start adding the garri to the stock mix, until the desired density of eba is reached.
- Serve as seen in the images below.
