Practical West African cookery

2. Melt the butter in a large native pot or your largest saucepan. When it begins to sing throw in the yam, carrots, turnips and onion. Fry them very slightly over a small fire until they are just turning yellow, taking care they do not burn. Then pour on the water by degrees, and add the salt, pepper (and bunch of parsley). Let the pot boil up, then set it a little aside and let it go on cooking very slowly for two hours. By that time the water is greatly reduced, add a pint or more of hot water. Wait till it has fully come to the boil again and then throw in the cabbage. Keep boiling for twenty minutes, then set aside and simmer for an hour and a half. 3. Put five or six thin slices of bread in the soup tureen, pour half of the soup through the sieve straight on to the bread and add a few pieces of vegetable and cabbage taken out of the pot. Let it stand a minute or two and then serve. Note. — The remaining soup can be passed through the sieve and heated up for next meal and the vegetables can make a very good little dish by frying them in a dessertspoonful of lard, or serving them “ nature ” with a little fresh butter melting on top, Ground Nut Soup. (I). 1 pint of stock. I £ teaspoon salt. 1 teacup ground nut. | pinch pepper. Any stock from fowl or button broth or beef soup or even ivater left from vegetable soup can be used for a ground nut soup, or some stock made quickly with Lernco or Maggi. 1. Roast and peel the ground nuts and pound them to a paste in a native mortar if you have no proper kitchen one, mix them with a teacup of water. This makes a paste that you mix with the hot stock and let it boil for a quarter of an hour. Serve with little squares of fried bread. A teaspoon of vermouth can be added to each soup plate at table if liked, or a few drops of sherry and pepper. (See Index.) Dried Native Bean Soup. (I). £ breakfast cup of beans, wakin-bissa if possible, lj pints water, i onion stuck with one clove. 1 breakfast cup stock or milk. 1 teaspoon salt. £ teaspoon pepper. (A bunch of parsley). The beans should be soaked through the day in about two breakfast cupfuls of cold water, the length of soaking required depends upon the dryness of the beans. 1. Drain the water off the beans and put them in the saucepan with the cold water, onion, salt, pepper (and parsley if obtainable), let it boil till tbe beans are quite soft ; it they have been well soaked this should be in about an hour’s time. 2. Pass the beans through the sieve taking care to keep the water that drains from them. 3. Return the mashed beans and water to the saucepan. If there is less than a breakfast cup of water left, add a little more, hot. 4. Pour in the breakfast cup stock or milk and bring t-o the boil. The soup when ready should be of the consistency of cream ; if it is too thin it can be allowed to simmer a little until it has thickened. 5. Just before serving put in half a teaspoon fresh butter if available. Some finely chopped parsley added to the soup is an improvement, as are fried dices of bread. Note. — This soup can be made without either stock or milk if necessary. Fresh beans can be used instead of dried ; they require no soaking. Dried Pea Soup. (I). Small £ teacup dried peas. 1 breakfast cup stock or milk. 14 pints water. 1 large onion stuck with one clove.