Attiéké with vegetables, a vegetarian recipe

Name: Attiéké with vegetables
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Ivory Coast
Ingredients: 500 g attiéké (fermented cassava couscous); 2 ripe plantains; 4 firm tomatoes, finely diced; 2 onions, one white and one red, very thinly sliced; 1 fresh red chilli, chopped; 1 vegetable stock cube labelled gluten free, crumbled; Juice of 2 lemons; 4 tbsp neutral oil, plus more for frying the plantains; 1 cucumber, diced; Salt

Method

Crumble the attiéké by hand into a bowl, sprinkle over 3 tbsp water and a pinch of salt, and mix so it dampens evenly.
Steam it for 10 minutes in a sieve set over a pan of simmering water, covered with a tea towel.
Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, onions, cucumber, chilli, lemon juice, crumbled stock cube and oil. Season and leave to macerate.
Peel the plantains and cut them on the diagonal into slices a centimetre thick.
Fry them in hot oil for 3 minutes a side, until well caramelised at the edges, then drain and salt them.
Fluff the attiéké with a fork: the grains should be warm, supple and completely separate.
Mound the attiéké in the middle of each plate, ring it with the salad and fried plantain, and serve at once.

Attiéké is made from grated cassava left to ferment, which gives it that faint sourness. Buy it ready-made, fresh or dried, and steam it back to life.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

Frequently asked questions

What do I do differently with dried attiéké?

It needs far more liquid than the three spoonfuls given for fresh attiéké. Wet it gradually, mixing as you go, until the grains are damp but never soggy, let it swell for about ten minutes, then steam it as described.

Why do my grains stay stuck together in lumps?

The moistening was uneven. Always crumble the attiéké by hand before wetting it, breaking up the blocks between your fingers, or the water pools in patches. After steaming, fluff it with a fork while hot: once cold it fuses again and cannot be rescued.

Can the salad be made in advance?

Half an hour ahead does it good, giving the lemon time to soften the bite of the raw onion. Much beyond two hours and the tomato and cucumber weep, leaving the salad sitting in a watery juice that soaks the attiéké.

Attiéké with vegetables

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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