Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.
Gages is a deceptively simple vegetable dish that originates in Sierra Leone. We say "deceptively simple" because the taste is extraordinary!
We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is
The Congo Cookbook.
My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. We just came across a terrific culinary resource -
African Cuisine Made Easy. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources.
This easy to prepare recipe combines all sorts of lovely fall colours together with a few unexpected ingredients! Pairs well with all sorts of things - chicken, beef or seafood or enjoy it as a stand alone vegetarian meal.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1/4 cup of unsalted, dry roasted peanuts
- 1/4 cup of unsweetened flaked coconut
- 1 eggplant, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 red chili pepper, chopped and remove seeds
- 4 nice ripe tomatoes (we use any tomato we happen to have but plum tomatoes are our favourite)
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (we actually use a blend of canola and olive oil)
- 1/4 cup of vinegar (we use red cider vinegar but we have used red wine vinegar as well)
- 1 large red onion (we rough chop the onion)
Instructions
- Melt your butter in a large frying pan (we use our wok).
- Fry the eggplant slices until they are slightly browned (or more if you like a little char).
- Remove from the heat and set to cool to almost room temperature.
- Now combine everything in a big bowl, mixing the vinegar and oil together and pouring it over all other ingredients.
- Cover your bowl with saran wrap and place in fridge for several hours. We like to make this the night before and refrigerate overnight.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the coconut and peanuts over the top and toss.
This recipe is a snap to make and serves about six people as a side. If using it as a main dish, it serves about 4.
A little tip? If you have any leftover, add them to sandwiches. Delicious!
Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.
Vegetable Photo Source:
Wikipedia (Creative Commons - Labeled for Reuse).
