Elite life
Cameroon (Cameroonian Recipes)
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups flour a cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda 2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder 3 medium ripe bananas mashed
2 tablespoons margarine salt
Cooking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350E. Grease and flour one loaf pan. Sift the flour together with baking soda and baking powder and a little salt into a bowl. In a larger bowl, cream the margarine and sugar, then add the beaten eggs a little at a time. Add flour alternately with mashed bananas; stir well to mix ingredients but do not overstir. Put mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake for approximately one hour, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn out on wire rack to finish cooling.
Servings: 6-8
Ingredients:
2 pounds stew beef, cut into small cubes
Water
4 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 pounds spinach, washed and chopped
2 tomatoes chopped finely
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons peanut butter
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Instructions:
Put the beef in saucepan with a little salt and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, covered, and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours until the meat is just tender (it will cook more later in recipe). The time will vary depending on the cut of meat and the size of the pieces. Remove the meat and keep the liquid. Using a large pan, heat the oil and soften the onion. Add the meat pieces and cook for two minutes. Take 2 cups of the reserved beef broth. Add water if necessary, then pour this in pan with onion and meat. Add spinach, tomatoes, tomato paste, peanut butter, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil and then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly. Serve with rice.
Macabo
(cocoyam) with Peanut Sauce
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
10 large macabo
1 cup oil
Salt
2-6 cups water
6 large banana leaves or heavy duty sandwich bags
2 cups peanuts or 1 cup fresh ground peanut butter
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons grated ginger
3 large tomatoes
Basil, parsley, leek, celery, chopped
4 pieces okra
1 small onion
3 bouillon cubes, chicken or beef flavored
2.2 pounds meat or fish
Cooking Instructions:
Peel, wash and grate the macabo. Mix the paste with a wooden spatula
or ladle adding a 1/2 cup of oil and a dash of salt. Continue mixing,
gradually adding water but not too much or the paste will be too runny.
Consistency should be a semi-thick liquid. Wash the banana leaves and
gently remove the veins with ripping the leaf. Place 2-3 ladles full of
macabo mix onto each leaf or in each plastic bag. Fold inward, starting
from the two sides, followed by the bottom and then the top or twist-tie
the sandwich bags. Make sure to double the bag. If using sandwich bags,
fill the pot halfway before placing plastic inside. Cover the bottom of
the pot with a banana leaf folded in two and place the macabo packets
into the pot. Add 2 cups of water and cook for 2.5 hours, adding water
when necessary. Wait until the water has completely evaporated before
lowering the fire.
While the macabo is cooking, prepare the peanut sauce by grilling the
peanuts. Let cool, then remove the shells and crush the nuts. Peel the
garlic and ginger. Crush the garlic and ginger together with the tomato
and herbs in a blender. Crush the okra in a blender. Cut the onion into
small pieces. Lightly season meat or fish to taste. If using meat, broil
in an oven. If using fish, clean, salt and fry. Place a large pot over
medium heat and add oil, onion and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the mixture of
tomato, garlic, ginger, and herbs and let boil until mixture is well
blended. Add the juices from the meat and a little water and bring to a
boil. Add the peanuts, let boil.
Add the fried fish or meat and let blend well with peanut sauce. Add the okra,
bouillon cubes and alter seasoning to taste. Let cook. The sauce should
not be too thick. Just before serving, remove the macabo packets and
place in a dish. The balls should resemble well-formed balls of mashed
potatoes except thicker. Pour the sauce into a soup tureen.
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons vinegar
6 teaspoons sugar
6 tablespoons peanut oil
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
A dash salt
1 bouillon cube
2 garlic cloves, chopped
10 potatoes, peeled, cut into cubes, boiled and salted
4 carrots, cut into cubes, boiled and salted
1 cup string beans, boiled and salted
2 cobs fresh corn, boiled and salted, optional
4 boiled eggs, cut into cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 large bass or other fish, boiled, salted and cut into pieces
1 tomato, chopped
Cooking Instructions:
For the vinaigrette sauce, mix the vinegar and sugar in a bowl. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the peanut oil and mayonnaise. Mix well. Add the salt, the bouillon cube and the garlic. If the sauce is too light, add more mayonnaise. If necessary, add vinegar to taste. For the salad, place the potatoes, carrots, string beans and corn in a salad bowl. Add the eggs, onions and fish. Dress with the vinaigrette sauce. Decorate with tomato and serve.
Parsley Shrimp
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
1 large onion
3 large tomatoes
1.5 cups olive oil
2.2 pounds fresh gray shrimp
4 sprigs parsley
Cognac and white wine
2 lemons, sliced
Cooking Instructions:
Chop the onion and parsley. Place the tomatoes in hot water, then
cold. Peel the tomatoes, then chop into small pieces. Place a small
amount of olive oil in a saucepan, add the shrimp and cook til shrimp
turns pink. Add the onion, tomatoes, parsley. Add white wine and cognac
to your flavor. Serve on a platter decorated with lemon slices.
Sweet Potato
Cake
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
2 pounds sweet potatoes
1 cup butter
4 eggs
1.25 cups sugar
Lime zest
2 tablespoons rum or whisky
Butter for greasing the pan
Cooking Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Boil the sweet potatoes for 20 minutes,
then drain. Peel the sweet potatoes while they are still warm and mash
with a fork. Mix with the butter. Whip the eggs together with the sugar
until white. Add the lime zest and mix both into the sweet potato
mixture. Add the rum. Pour the batter into a buttered cake pan. Cook for
1 hour. Let cool then turn upside-down onto a plate and serve.
Papaya Jam
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
1 large ripe papaya
1 lemon
2 pounds sugar
Cooking Instructions:
Peel and cut the papaya and place in a container with a lid. Add the
lemon juice and the sugar. Let sit
overnight. Grind the papaya in a food processor. Place a pot over
medium-low heat. Add this mixture and let cook until all the liquid has
disappeared. Place immediately in a bottle or jar and close securely.
This jam works well for spreading on bread.
African Crepes
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
A dash salt
3 cups milk
9 ripe bananas
1 cup peanut oil
3 eggs
Cooking Instructions:
For the batter, place the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
Mix with a wooden spoon adding the milk little by little, until smooth.
Mash the bananas with a fork. Mix into the batter. Heat the oil in a
crepe pan or shallow frying pan. Pour a thin layer of batter into pan
enough to cover surface. Cook the crepes like pancakes but only on one
side. Serve warm, dusted with sugar.
