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YAM POTTAGE

Asaro (Yoruba)

In Nigeria, my grandma would sometimes make pottage for me and my cousins. It’s a really comforting dish and traditionally leans more towards porridge than soup. She always aims to please, so she would spend lots of time adjusting the spices until they were perfect. Sometimes she’d add smoked turkey or mackerel to intensify the flavour, although I haven’t included any in this more conventional version. Some people like to use water yams, coco yams or plantain, but I’ve chosen puna yams for this recipe as they are quite floury and give a fluffy, cloud-like texture. Serve on its own sprinkled with a few chives or with Bell Pepper Soup (Obe Ata). Alternatively, enjoy with Malt Braised Beef or Baobab Lamb Cutlets. If you can’t find palm oil, you can try coconut oil or groundnut oil but the flavour of the dish won’t be the same.

PREP TIME: 20 MINS

COOKING TIME: 35 MINS

SERVES: 4

4 tbsp palm oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 Scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded (if preferred) and chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 yellow pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

1/2 large puna yam, peeled and cut into chunks

1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled

1 tbsp carob powder

2 tsp onion granules

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp celery salt

2 tsp dried basil

salt and cayenne pepper

chives, to serve (optional)

Add the palm oil to a large saucepan over a medium–low heat and let it melt. Stir in the onion, Scotch bonnet, celery and yellow pepper. Cook for 7–10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion and pepper are softened. Using a hand-held blender, purée the vegetables until smooth.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and carefully add in the cubed yams. Let cook, covered, for 10 minutes, until beginning to soften. Use a colander to drain the yam, reserving 250ml of the cooking water. Add the yam, along with the water, to the pan of blended vegetables, then stir in the stock cube, carob powder, onion granules, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, celery salt and basil. Cover the pan with a lid, turn the heat up to medium and cook the yams for a further 10 minutes until a fork can easily pierce through.

Once the yams are quite soft, use the back of a fork to break them apart, then mix until whipped and fluffy. Make any final taste adjustments with salt and cayenne pepper. Turn the heat down to low and let cook for a final 3 minutes, ensuring all the liquid has been absorbed by the yams.

Serve sprinkled with a few chives, if using. I find it best to let the pottage cool slightly before eating.