Àsáró

Yoruba yam porridge: yam simmered in a blend of peppers, tomato, and onion with red palm oil until the pieces soften into their own sauce

Origin: Ibadan & Yorubaland

From the journey of Yam.

Àsáró is the Yoruba porridge of yam, and it is the everyday face of a tuber whose ceremonial face is pounded yam. Yam is cut into chunks and cooked in a blend of red peppers, tomato, and onion with a good measure of red palm oil, until some of the pieces hold their shape and others collapse and thicken the pot. Smoked fish, dried prawns, or beef go in with it, and a scatter of leaves goes on at the end: efo, scent leaf, or spinach. It is a one-pot dish, cooked in quantity, and it belongs to the household rather than the feast. Its colour comes from the palm oil, which is used here as a flavour and not merely as a fat, and a cook who stints on it is making something else.

Ingredients

Porridge

  • 1 kg white yam, peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
  • 4 tbsp red palm oil
  • 150 g smoked fish, flaked, or 2 tbsp dried prawns
  • 1 tbsp ground crayfish
  • 1 stock cube
  • 600 ml water or stock

Pepper Blend

  • 4 red bell peppers (tatashe), deseeded
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 2 scotch bonnet peppers
  • 1 onion, half for the blend and half sliced

To Finish

  • 1 handful spinach or scent leaf, shredded
  • Salt

Method

  1. Blend the bell peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnets, and half the onion to a coarse purée.
  2. Warm the palm oil in a wide pot over a medium heat until it loosens and brightens, then add the sliced onion and fry for 3 minutes.
  3. Add the pepper blend and fry for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and the oil begins to separate.
  4. Add the yam, water, crayfish, stock cube, and fish, and bring to a simmer.
  5. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then and crushing a few pieces of yam against the side of the pot, until the yam is tender and the porridge has thickened.
  6. Season with salt, stir in the greens, and serve hot.

Notes

Water yam can be used and will thicken the pot faster, but the classic asaro is made with white yam. For a meatless version, leave out the fish and crayfish and lift the seasoning with more pepper and a little smoked paprika.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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