African Comfort Food

Every Tuesday on board the good ol' AFM is African Night. Some look forward to is all week some dread it....personally, I LOVE it... though they do tone it own for us so they don't burn our mouths off. While I was working in the Galley, I asked my lovely day workers if they'd teach me how to make my FAVORITE African dishes so I can make them when I go home. I have yet to actually replicate what we made that day, but here is how you do it!

Me an one of my 'teachers'- Marina

Bentia(not in the pictures) started by teaching me Onion Stew(my all-time Favorite!!) You start by sauteeing onions until they are nice and soft.

Then you add spices- this is Jumbo, a local spice, which from what I can tell is essentially beef bouillon, but has lottts of MSG as well:)

You add salt, pepper, jumbo, chicken powder, beef powder, she added a little thyme, then tomato paste until it's the right color red, and a little bit of water.

You have to stir it often or it WILL burn onto the bottom of the pot.

Plantains are a HUGE part of our African meals on board. First, we have to peel all of them- we do between 8 and 14 cases every week!!

Once Peeled, we cut them up

Then Fry them up- In my personal opinion, the darker they are, the better the flavor:)

On to the beans!!! You start off with the same base as the onion stew, but with about 1/2 of the onions.

You have to boil the beans(Black Eyed peas) for a whilllee until they're nice and soft, and all of the water has evaporated off of them.

Once the beans are cooked, you add the 'red stew'.

This is the KILLER spicy sauce they cook up and put on the side for the TRUE african lovers... I can't even be NEAR them when they cook this or zap it in the food processor... it makes me sneeze, cough and makes my face burn!! That's how spicy it is!!!!

Mmmm gotta love it- that night we had fried sea bass with it. The rice is buried under all of the yummy sauces... it was a great night for my taste buds:)