Phooey on Fufu!

Fufu has popped up many times during my recipe searches, especially when researching African countries. I decided it was finally time to make it.

What is fufu, you ask? According to Wikipedia.com fufu is "a thick paste or porridge usually made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding with a mortar and pestle until the desired consistency is reached."

In Côte d'Ivoire fufu is made with plantains. I made the specialty dish of this French-speaking nation, called "Sauce Claire and Fufu". I fried cod filets in a large pan and then added chopped eggplant, onion, okra, chili pepper, and tomato. I filled the pan with water and brought it to a boil, then added the peeled plantains. After about 25 minutes everything was tender, and I removed the plantains and mashed them to make my fufu. I dished the fish "stew", as it appeared, on top of the fufu and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Plantains not only look like bananas, but also have a similar sweet taste. For someone who is a fan of the sweet and salty combination, this dish might just be heavenly. I, however, was reminded a bit of the baby food I used to serve Henry in his earlier days. The cod with the simmered vegetables, however, was more my taste. Ted enjoyed the dish far more than I. We settled on a rating of 2.25 for Côte d'Ivoire.