Wednesday 15th October was ‘Tastes of Ghana’ day at the Novelli Academy, and what fun it was! From the minute the guests arrived till the moment they left, the energy and atmosphere was one I will remember for a long time!!
We began with the usual welcome, teas, coffees and biscuits and chatted as guests wandered around the kitchen and enjoyed looking over the ingredients
and spice display of yams, plantain, cocoyam, gari, dried prawn powder, chillies, both smoked and fresh and a host of unusual spices.
As one of the nine dishes we cooked a basic tomato sauce, the basis of several Ghanaian dishes, like black-eye beans with salt fish and bacon and served it with tatale (plantain pancakes). One of the guests had us all laughing with “now that’s beans on toast with a difference”.
Peeling, slicing, chopping, tasting, were all accompanied by peals of laughter. Another winner on the menu, was ‘Ham and Yam Chowder’, smoked haddock, sweetcorn, baby spinach, smoky bacon stewed with cubes of yam and cocoyam. Warming and tasty, it’s laden with ingredients to lift the spirits on a cold damp day! A bowl of this comfort food is perfect for the autumn, as you nestle into the sofa.
In a kitchen full of satisfying aromas, the final dish, plantain pudding, emerges from the oven and was served with coffee mascarpone and figs in a ginger and peppercorn syrup to complete the day.
1 Reply to "Tastes of Ghana course"
Sylvia Ampofo October 27, 2014 (8:17 pm)
Wish I was there…but thanks to your blog I am getting a lot of inspiration for my Christmas lunch menu, Patti. Cheers!