The initial unfamiliarity with Africa’s delicacies will soon become familiar. As you begin to read the recipe blogs and discover familiar ingredients Africa’s interesting gastronomic dishes will become everyday meals. The goal of The African Gourmet is to introduce uncomplicated and enjoyable African foods into kitchens across the world and establish recipes that are sure to become family favorites. Have fun creating African meals for everyday meals, holiday parties, after school treats, bake sales, fundraisers, bake offs, get-togethers etc…Shed light on African cuisine and take a step ahead to new culinary experiences.
Recipe:
Sweet & Easy Baklava
North Africa
Yields 12 to 14 servings
Ingredients:
One 16 ounce package phyllo dough
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup melted butter
Baklava Syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
½ cup orange blossom honey
¼ teaspoon orange blossom water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish. Mix cinnamon and walnuts in a medium bowl, set aside. Unroll phyllo cut into two equal halves. Cover phyllo with a slightly moist cloth while assembling to keep from drying out. Place 2 sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish, brush liberally with butter, and sprinkle 3 tablespoons of cinnamon and walnut mixture on top. Repeat layers. Cut baklava into desired serving sizes bake 45-50 minutes. Meanwhile combine remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Finally, when the baklava is removed from the oven immediately evenly pour syrup over the finished pastry. Allow cooling before serving. Store uncovered.
Other natural foods are much sweeter than processed sugar. Whether sugar is in the form of honey, sugar cane, beets or refined sugar it is a universal and versatile ingredient. African sweets will surely satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth. You will find that “sweet is sweet” no matter what continent you happen to live on. Sweet is one of the five central human tastes. Sugary desserts across the world are looked upon as a satisfying experience. Sugarcane is much sweeter than processed sugar. Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions sugarcane is a natural sweet treat. Sugarcane is cultivated for its natural sweet juice; there are many uses of sugar cane including the production of table and brown sugar, molasses, rum and soda. Besides commercial uses for sugarcane, more often people simply peel the outer bark of the sugarcane carefully with a sharp knife. Cut away the hard fibrous portions above and below the editable softer portion of the sugarcane. Cut the pieces of sugarcane into desired portions, chew to extract the juices and expel the fibrous stalks. All photo’s of African people on epicurean.africanfoodie website credit USAID.
Watermelon grew in the Kalahari Desert and also may have originated from the African desert. Tsamma melon is an heirloom type of watermelon, the grandmother of all watermelons. Its flesh contains a tough white tissue, making it unlikely to be eaten raw. For this reason it is a popular source of water in the diet of the African Kalahari people. Tsamma is also a source of water and food for wild and domestic animals. Because of it’s tought flesh Tsamma is usually pickled. An easy recipe for pickled rind is Tsamma preserves. The rind of today’s watermelon is cut into small chunks, sugar and other spices are added making a wonderful and sweet dessert. Tsamma’s firm fleshy tissue is comparable to the rind of today’s watermelon, the part usually thrown away. Every part of the watermelon is editable. The African dessert cookbook, A Sweet Taste of Africa features a recipe for sweet pickled Tsamma preserves. The everyday African cookbook A field of Greens also contains a crock-pot recipe for Tsamma preserves. Add some spice to your boring food life.
When one thinks of the marvelously nourishing and stimulating virtue of cocoa is Africa also thought of? Cocoa has always grown in many parts of the African tropics. The cacao-tree grows wild in the forests of tropical regions but is also one of the tender trees of tropical growth. Africa produces well over 50% of the world’s cocoa. Yes Africa. Ironically many Africans have never tasted the finished chocolate product due to the high cost of producing the product. Cocoa is used to make the world’s most beloved sweet treat, chocolate. No other natural food product can be said to serve equally well as food or drink, or to possess the nourishing and
stimulating properties as cocoa. The next time you have a chocolate craving or you give a gift for a special occasion to your sweetheart, chances are that piece of chocolate originated from Africa.
Photo USAID Antonio Martinez
It is a common belief green figs (unripe) were commonly eaten by male lovers to increase virility. This ancient Viagra is surely a tribute to the fruit’s strength-giving passionate qualities. A virile recipe given to me by one of friends is fig tea. To make fig tea, take half a pound of dried figs and wash well. Cut up roughly and put into a large size sauce pan along with 6 cups of water. Simmer for 1 hour until the liquid is reduced to thick tea like consentaneity similar to smoothie. Process through a sieve to remove the pulp if desired. Add a little lemon juice if preferred. By the way lemon juice is also an old remedy for the removal of blackheads.
