Welcome to the Celtnet Stefan's West African Recipes Home Page

Welcome to Celtnet's Stefan's West African Recipes — This is another in the occasional series produced on this sight, highlighting different foods or cooking methods. In this case I'm presenting all the West African recipes demonstrated to me by my wife, Stefan on my visits to see her and our son in Senegal. These are all traditional recipes, mostly from Liberia but also from other regions of West Africa.

Stefan (who is shown cooking, left) is what I would term a 'natural cook'. Taught by her grandmother she has an almost instinctual knowlege of foods, ingredients and how to put them together into amazing dishes. In a culture where recipe books are unknown and recipes are handed down through families it's far more about a feeling for ingredients rather than cooking by rote. The first time I began to look at her cooking and to copy and write her techniques in my notebook (I always have a notebook on me for recipes, and bits of poetry) she thought I was weird. When I showed her a draft recipe that I'd copeid from here and redacted to standard recipe book format she thought it was even weirder. How could those instructions on a page begin to approach what she made in her pots?

Of course she knew I could cook. I'd already demonstrated that to her... And she trusted me... So this Christmas I brought her a printed-out copy of my Recipes of Africa cookbook, which is dedicated to her and her son and which aims to support her family and the children of the other Liberian refugees in Senegal to ensure they have an education and a future. Now, as part of my efforts in the 'Help Stefan' campaign I'm presenting here all the recipes she has shown me so far (there are lots more coming!).

Though born in Sierra Leone, Stefan counts herself a Liberian. Most of her family are Liberians and many of those who survived the civil wars in both Liberia and Sierra Leone live there still. Stefan grew up in her grandmother's household in Monrovia and her culinary education derives from this. She knows a whole slew of traditional Liberian dishes and only a small portion are presented here. Indeed, her major concern at the moment is that she does not have an oven and cannot bake (Liberia is one of the few West African countries with a strong baking tradition). But having Sierra Leonian ancenstry she also knows Sierra Leonian cookery. During her flight from the civil war in Liberia she escaped to her family in Freetown, Sierra Leone, only to be caught-up tin the civil war there. Thankfully she managed to escaped to Guinea and worked for a time in a restaurant (so she known some Guinean recipes as well). From there she made it to The Gambia and the refugee camps and the Chruch then managed to get her to Senegal where she has lived for a few years now. Her repetoire is now expanding into Senegalese cookery as well and her take on the classic Senegalese Cëebu Jen is given below.

These are all traditional recipes from my wife's culinary homeland, Liberia. Each one of these recipes has been demonstrated to me and I've prepared them all myself, at least once. Just one note. Liberia is the land of hot chilli peppers and just about every real Liberian recipe has lots and lots of chillies in them. Personally I really like hot chillies (and surprised the Liberians of Senegal by being able to eat a boiled Scotch Bonnet). Please note this and dial-back the chillies to your own taste!

In addition to hot peppers (chillies) the other two tastes characteristic of Liberia are ginger and cinnamon. Liberia grows cassia and dried, powdered, cassia bark is sold as cinnamon there (just as it often is in the USA). If you are interested in these recipes and would like to see my complete description of Liberian recipes (as well as learning a little about the country itself) then please visit my Liberia Recipes page.

The image shown here is a typical serving of Liberian 'Dry Rice and Fish', the recipe for which is given below. This is a typical West African communal dish where everyone simply dives in to a large tray served in the centre of the table.

Hot Pepper Sauce
Hot Pepper and Anchovy Sauce
Cabbage Soup with Spicy Meatballs
Cow Skin
Peanut Soup
Cassava Soup
Perch Benachin
Pepper Soup
Chicken Pepper Soup
Dry Rice
Dry Rice and Fish
FuFu
Dumboy
Beef and Cassava Leaf Soup
Meat and Potato Stew
Hot Chilli Paste
Steamed Crawfish
Cassava and Plantain Mash
Rice Flour FuFu
Okra Rice and Red-oil Fish
Potato and Plantain Hash
Stuffed Grilled Fish
Eggplant Soup
Palm Butter Soup
Greens with Green Pepper
Cassava Cake
Irish Cream
Stewed Mangoes with Cloves
Coconut Candy
Ginger Cookies
Stewed Mangoes with Cloves
Liberian Palm Nut Soup
Palm Soup Base
Peach Fool
Liberian Fruit Fool
Fried Sweet Potato Greens
Goat Soup
Lemongrass Tea

The following recipes have all been prepared by my wife. They either originate elewhere in West Africa or a version of this dish known from elsewhere in West Africa is more well known than the Liberian version. The majority of these recipes are Senegalese in origin (as that's where my wife currently resides) but soon I will be adding Guinean recipes here as well.

As a matter of interest, the image shown here is that of a finished Senegalese Cëebu Jen (chubby jen as it's pronounced) in the 'country style'. The posh feast version is slightly more elabourate but the basic look of the dish remains the same.

Stefan's Cëebu Jen
West African Fish Rub
Chilli Um'bido
Nyembwe Sauce
Crumbly Pap
West African Meat Kebabs
Bissap
Bissap Gin West African Pizza Stefan's West African Seasonings

Stefan's grandmother unfortunately passed away in August and her recipe books and notes came into my wife's hands. We've been busy pouring over them and the two recipes below represent the start of our attempts at re-creating some of the classic Liberian baking recipes in those volumes:

Black Eyed Pea Flour Bread
Cassava Flour Bread







Traditional Barbecue Recipes

By gwydion | Published 2008-11-19 18:37:55 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Barbecuing, or cooking meat directly above a flame, is a very traditional cooking method and probably represents humanity's oldest cooking technique. There is nothing like a summer outdoor barbecue and here you will find recipes for a classic kebab and sticky ribs both designed to make the most out of barbecuing.

How to Prepare the Perfect Pastry

By gwydion | Published 2008-10-10 15:07:59 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Pastry is one of the most basic components of cooking, needed for pies, tarts and cake bases of many types. It originates in the ancient method of applying a paste of flour and water to baked meats to protect them in the fire. But, in the Middle Ages fats were added and modern pastry was born. Learn a little about the different pastry types and see a recipe for a traditional classic flaky pastry.

Don't Fear Baking - Making Cakes is Easy!

By gwydion | Published 2008-06-30 17:02:53 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Many cooks are apprehensive about baking, thinking it to be an extremely laborious and involved process. Following a complicated recipe and ensuring that everything is 'just so'. In fact, the basic sponge cake recipe is a very simple one and this article takes you through some of the rules and pitfalls of baking and gives you two sponge cake recipes to try. Follow this guide and they will come out perfectly every time.

Cooking with Hazelnuts - Hazelnut-based Recipes

By gwydion | Published 2008-10-15 18:38:04 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Hazelnuts are an important part of the Autumn's bounty and humans have been collecting and harvesting them for many thousands of years. Today, however, we tend to use them only as nuts and do not cook with them. To re-dress the balance, here is an introduction to hazelnuts along with some hazelnut-based recipes for you to try at home.

Must-have Quotes About Chocolate

By gwydion | Published 2008-03-18 20:19:52 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Chocolate is perhaps the most indulgent ingredient to emerge from the Americas. It was once considered a royal drink and prepared especially for the ruling elite. Chocolate itself is made from the cocoa bean and as such is actually, technically, a spice. It's hardly surprising that this magical substance has inspired a host of memorable quotations...

Making a Home-made Hot Smoker

By gwydion | Published 2009-09-20 21:40:59 | 2009 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

A hot smoker is a method of cooking food, particularly fish, in a mixture of steam and wood chip or sawdust smoke. This article tells you how to make a very cheap home-made smoker from standard kitchen components, as well as telling you how to cook with it.

Cooking with Beef - Making the Most of Beef Cuts

By gwydion | Published 2008-10-21 15:53:45 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Beef is a very flavoursome meat, as long as it is well matured, but it does have the cachet of being expensive and to be used only as a treat. Partly this is due to the history of beef as a high-status ingredient. Partly it's due to the cost of the better cuts. But you have a whole animal to consider and this article takes you through the history of beef eating and gives you a recipe for both the best and one of the poorer cuts of meat.

Halloween Recipes - The Foods and History of Halloween

By gwydion | Published 2008-10-07 14:00:20 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Halloween has a 2000 year history, extending from the time of the Ancient Celts to the modern day. Learn how the Romans and Christians changed this ancient feast and how it found its way to the Americas. You will also get recipes for a Celtic stew and a pumpkin dish associated with Halloween.

Baking Cakes Made Easy

By gwydion | Published 2008-06-22 13:47:00 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

Here is a simple step-by-step guide to letting you get the most from your cake baking. This article takes you through some of the history, science and practicalities of cake making so you will know not only what to do, but why your should do it. Armed with this information you can turn out perfect light and creamy cakes time after time...

Cooking for the Crockpot

By gwydion | Published 2008-09-25 16:18:52 | 2008 Recipes and Cookery Articles |

Recipe Information:

A crockpot (also known as a slow cooker) can be an excellent means of cooking proper meals slowly for a long time. It allows you to make the most of poor cuts of meat and lets you cook your food over night or slowly throughout the day whilst you are at work. There are lots of recipes for crockpot meals on the internet, but you can adjuist pretty much any recipe for a stew or braising dish to the crockpot. This article shows you how to do this using a classic Turkish lamb and onion stew as an example.


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