Burkina Faso: Cooking Around the World with Camilla (CATWWC)

I love that technology allows men to brag about their indiscretions!

So even though Jake is on a 36-hour road trip, eating - shudder! - at McDonald's, I decided we were pressing forward with our cooking around the world adventure without him. Riley was my kitchen elf tonight as we traveled to Burkina Faso by tabletop.

I have to admit that I have never heard of Burkina Faso. Turns out it used to be called 'Upper Volta' until 1984 when it was renamed. Burkina Faso means 'land of the upright people.' Okay. I still had to look that one up on the map. It's located in west Africa, surrounded by Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.

After a full day of adventures, from the farmers' market to the beach, I opted for a one-pot dinner: a Burkinabe sweet potato-cashew soup. So delicious! Traditionally this dish is completely pureed, except for the cashews, but I wanted a little bit more texture; Riley only hand-mashed the sweet potatoes.

2 sweet potatoes, cubed and steamed till completely soft

3 carrots, halved and sliced

1 fennel, diced

2 T minced fresh ginger

2 T minced fresh garlic

2 roasted red peppers, peeled and diced

4 C organic chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
3 T soy sauce

roasted cashews, for garnish

cilantro, for garnish

I steamed the sweet potatoes until Riley could hand-mash them. In a large souppot, cook the ginger, garlic, fennel, carrots and peppers in a splash of olive oil until they are caramelized. Stir in the chicken broth, coconut milk, and mashed sweet potatoes.

Heat through. Pour in soy sauce. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cashews and cilantro.

Enjoy my tabletop travels. Join me in whipping up a dish or two. If you cook do cook a recipe from one of these countries, I'd love to hear about it. Feel free to comment on the posts themselves or email me at constantmotioncamilla at gmail dot com.

This Knight of the Global Table Adventure is signing off for now. We're traveling to Burma next. We're almost done with the 'B's!!

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