Africa On A Plate

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Illustration Christina Hagerfors

Conakry, Guinea

Djeli Moussa Condé, Guinean musician, www.djelimoussaconde.com 

Chez Baba Castille (Quartier Sans Fil, C: Kaloum) is one of my favourite places to eat in Conakry. For me it evokes hot nights in Conakry and good Guinean food, with traditional dishes made using lots of local products, and live music - an important component of Guinean culture. Two typical Guinean dishes are konkoé touré gbéli, smoked catfish with vegetables, made with palm oil and served with rice, and boukhèkhè, or feuille de manioc; cassava leaf sauce with fish or meat and rice.

Marrakech, Morocco

Mourad Mazouz, restaurateur, www.momoresto.com 

To eat like a local in Marrakech, visit Snack Al Bahria (Boulevard Moulay Rachid, corner of Rue Mauritanie). It's a tiny fish stall with a few outdoor tables where you choose from the daily catch and have it cooked in front of you. They also do great seafood platters with fish and shellfish.

If you're after grilled meat, Chez Bejgueni (Rue Ibn Aïcha, Guéliz) is an institution; every Marrakechi has been eating there since 1973. Also, Service Station Al Baraka (RP 24 Commune Annakhil, Sidi Yousef Ben Ali) does great beef and chicken tagines, méchoui (slow-roasted lamb), grills and berber flatbread. It really is a service station, about 20 minutes outside town on the old Fez route.

Kampala, Uganda (Entebbe) 

Paula Adhis Rogo, food writer, chefafrik.com 

In the makeshift street kitchens of Kampala, you should sample the Rolex. A delicious meal-in-one-dish, its name derives from "roll of eggs". It's a rolled chapati filled with omelette, cabbage, onions, tomatoes and green peppers.

Cotonou, Benin

Gary Thomas, intrepid traveller 

Just outside Cotonou at Ouidah, you'll find an open-air restaurant called Well Chic; it's opposite the entrance to the Voodoo Museum. It's just a collection of tables, chairs, pots and pans and one smiling chef, whose limited menu is based on what's fresh and available. Her signature dish is an amazing concoction with whole crabs, fish and eggs with various meats - usually beef, goat and/or cowhide. Near the Point of No Return slavery memorial, the tiny Côté Pêche (Route des Esclaves, quartier Brésil) serves great seafood.

Between Cotonou and Abomey, there are lots of roadside stalls selling bush rat. All along the roadside people will cook one up for you, served with local cheese, pounded cassava and beer. It's surprisingly juicy and tender - very tasty, in fact.

Nairobi, Kenya

Yetunde Osakue-Allison, African food blogger, www.avartsycooking.com 

As a Nigerian who has dabbled in Kenyan food, the first two dishes I was introduced to were nyama chomaand ugali. Nyama choma is simply roasted or grilled meat. It's often eaten with a side of Kenyan salsa, known as kachumbari, or with ugali, a starchy side made from maize flour. It has a texture similar to mashed potatoes, but firmer. You can find nyama choma and ugali at most street markets and restaurants, and they serve as a wonderful introduction to Kenyan food.

Monrovia, Liberia

Elie Calhoun, writer, www.africanepicure.com 

My two favorite Liberian foods are kelewele and sweet potato greens. Kelewele is a spicy version of fried plantains that piles on a heavy dose of ginger and some hot pepper. Potato greens are the best way to get your dark leaf greens in Liberia, and the local version includes fish or chicken and plenty of deep red palm oil. You can try both when Pandora's Basket takes over Africana (14th Street in Sinkor) on Thursday nights.

My other tip is the employee-owned Ministry of Fruit (17th Street and Cheeseman Avenue), which makes terrific fresh smoothies from whichever tropical fruits are in season.

Luanda, Angola

Claudio Silva, blogger at Luanda Nightlife, www.luanda-nightlife.com

There are some superb fish in the city's waters, and La Vigia (Rua Nicolau Gomes Spencer) takes full advantage. It features an open-air coal grill, where giant groupers are cooked to juicy perfection. On the Ilha, a peninsula jutting out of Luanda Bay, the Luanda Grill (Rua Murtala Mohamed) serves great international cuisine using mostly local ingredients, and its fourth-floor lounge offers lovely views of the bay. For the adventurous, Casa do Peixa da Bela (Chicala, Ilha de Luanda) has the best mufete in town - an Angolan staple made with grilled fish, beans and boiled plantains.

Dakar, Senegal

Pierre Thiam, New York-based chef and author of Yolele! Recipes from the Heart of Senegal, pierrethiam.com 

Growing up in Dakar, dibi Hausa, spicy lamb skewers served hot from a charcoal grill, ranked high among my favourite snacks. They're coated with Kankan spice (a mixture of peanuts, cayenne pepper and ginger), and served with slices of fresh onion, more Kankan spices and a baguette. The name comes from the nomadic Hausa people from northern Nigeria and Niger, who originally brought the recipe to Senegal.

Another favourite is accara or black-eye pea fritters, a crunchy beignet sold at street corners all over West Africa. They're served with a side of cooked tomato, onion and scotch bonnet pepper sauce; the sauce will make you sweat, but it's worth it.

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Paula Adhis Rogo, food writer, chefafrik.com 

Sierra Leone's Freetown is the city of sweet cakes. Walk into any market and you'll find endless flavours. Benni (sesame seed), groundnut and ginger cakes are favourites, but the ultimate is the Kill Driver; a biscuit so indulgent it is said to force bus drivers into drowsiness with its richness.

Banjul, Gambia

Kathryn Burrington, graphic designer at The Gambia Experience, www.thegambiablog.co.uk 

I can highly recommend Ida Cham-Njai's cookery courses, which take place at her home in Brufut. The day starts with a visit to the local market to select the ingredients, then it's back to Ida's house to spend the morning making lunch. The day I joined the course, we cooked fish benechinwith john dory and red snapper, served with a hot chilli sauce - which packed a serious punch.

FR Saveurs Africaines

Où manger et quel plat savourer en Afrique ? Yolanda Zappaterra recueille les bons plans cuisine du continent

Conakry, Guinée Le musicien guinéen Djeli Moussa Condé (www.djelimoussaconde.com) adore Chez Baba Castille (Quartier Sans Fil, C: Kaloum). Essayez le konkoé touré gbély, du poisson-chat fumé avec des légumes et du riz.

Marrakech, Maroc Pour manger comme les locaux, allez au Snack Al Bahria, Bd Moulay Rachid recommande le restaurateur Mourad Mazouz (www.momoresto.com). C'est une petite cantine de poisson ultra-frais.

Kampala, Ouganda (Entebbe) Ne ratez pas le Rolex, un chapati fourré à l'omelette, au chou, aux oignons, tomates et poivrons verts, dit la chroniqueuse culinaire Paula Adhis Rogo (www.chefafrik.com). Un délice des rues de Kampala !

Cotonou, Bénin À l'extérieur de Cotonou, à Ouidah, Well Chic est un restaurant en plein air, explique Gary Thomas, voyageur intrépide. Le plat attitré de la cuisinière : une étonnante concoction de crabe, poisson, oeufs et viandes.

Nairobi, Kenya  Nyama choma est simplement de la viande grillée explique la bloggeuse africaine Yetunde Osakue-Allison (www.avartsy.com). Dégustée avec de l'ugali, à base de farine de maïs, c'est une très bonne initiation à la cuisine locale.

Monrovia, Liberia  Kelewele est une gourmandise de bananes plantains frits avec du gingembre et du poivre noir, précise l'auteure Elie Calhoun (www.africanepicure.com). J'apprécie également les verdures de patates douces, mijotées avec du poisson ou du poulet et de l'huile de palme rouge. Essayez ce plat à l'Africana (14e rue à Sinkor).

Luanda, Angola La Vigia (Rua Nicolau Gomes Spencer) prépare les grands mérous à la perfection, selon Claudio Silva de luanda-nightlife.com.

Dakar, Sénégal Les plats préférés de mon enfance à Dakar: dibi Hausa - brochette d'agneau grillé épicée - et accara, beignets de haricots noirs croustillants vendus à tous les coins de rue, nous confie le chef Pierre Thiam (www.pierrethiam.com).

Freetown, Sierra Leone Freetown est la ville des gâteaux sourit Paula Adhis Rogo (site ci-dessus).

NL Afrikaanse Smaken 

Yolanda Zappaterra krijgt tips en tricks van insiders

Conakry, Guinee Chez Baba Castille is het favorietje van de Guinese muzikant Djeli Moussa Condé. "Probeer zeker eens de konkoé touré gbély, gerookte meerval met groenten en rijst."

Marrakech, Marokko De plaatselijke keuken ontdekken? "Breng een bezoekje aan Al Bahria Snack op de Boulevard Moulay Rachid", adviseert restaurateur Mourad Mazouz. "Het is een piepklein vis-kraampje waar de dagelijkse vangst live voor u wordt klaargemaakt." Kampala, Oeganda (Entebbe) "Rolex, een chapati gevuld met ei, kool, ui, tomaten en groene peper, is een echte aanrader. Het wordt verkocht in de eetkraampjes van Kampala", aldus food schrijfster Paula Adhis Rogo. Heerlijk!

Cotonou, Benin "Well Chic is een openluchtrestaurant even buiten Cotonou in Ouidah", vertelt de onverschrokken reiziger Gary Thomas. "De specialiteit van de chef is een heerlijke mix van krab, vis, eieren en verschillende vleessoorten."

Nairobi, Kenia "Nyama choma is een gerecht op basis van geroosterd of gegrild vlees", zegt de Afrikaanse foodblogger Yetunde Osakue-Allison. "Op te dienen met een bijgerecht zoals ugali, gemaakt van maïsbloem. De perfecte eerste kennismaking met de plaatselijke keuken.

Monrovia, Liberia "Kelewele is een gerecht op basis van gefrituurde weegbree, gember en pikante pepers", vertelt de schrijfster Elie Calhoun. "Ik ben ook helemaal verzot op de bladeren van zoete aardappelen bereid met vis of kip en rode palmolie. U kunt dit gerecht uittesten bij Africana."

Luanda, Angola "Bij La Vigia smult u van gigantische, tot op de perfectie bereide zeebaars", aldus Claudio Silva van www.luanda-nightlife.com. Bij Casa do Peixa da Bela kunt u terecht voor de beste mufete; gegrilde vis, bonen en gestoomde weegbree.

Dakar, Senegal "Dibi Hausa, pikant, op houtskool gebakken lamsvlees, was mijn favoriete snack tijdens mijn kinderjaren in Dakar. Net zoals accara, knapperige beignets op basis van zwartoogerwten die overal in de West-Afrikaanse straten worden verkocht", aldus chef-kok en schrijver Pierre Thiam.

Freetown, Sierra Leone "Freetown staat bekend om zijn gebakjes", lacht Paula Adhis Rogo.

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