One of my favourite African ladies, my partner’s mother, Dona Aida do Amaral has left us. She recently passed away, which has left a huge gaping emptiness in our lives. There were still so many questions to ask, conversations to enjoy, recipes to note (she was a knowledgeable and enthusiastic cook), but suddenly she was there no more.
Last weekend we held a luncheon in her honour- a komba- and I wanted to cook a traditional African meal. Cooking it was a sad but therapeutic. As my tears seasoned the stew I reflected on what I knew about Aida’s life and silently marvelled at the achievement of raising eight wonderful children in times of hardship and war.
Despite the extra seasoning, the table of tasters, all Africans, ate with gusto and applauded my efforts- (one of the friends had never seen a white person make maize porridge, before- chuckle!)
This is what I cooked-
Calulu de peixe with chorizo
(Fish stew with chorizo)
Calulu, calalu, calaloo or calalou is a hearty stew both in West Africa and Caribbean countries. It almost always contains a green leafy vegetable and/or okra.
This recipe has its own twist and contains neither. What it does have, are pieces of spicy chorizo sausage, not traditional, but utterly delicious combined with a splash of very African, palm oil, results in a rich, hearty and slightly spicier fish stew, a good accompaniment to stiff steaming maize porridge or sticky white rice.
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
200 g chorizo sausage, chopped
2 cloves garlic,peeled and chopped
1 small red chilli pepper, chopped
1 heaped teaspoon of paprika
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons mild red pepper paste
2 tins of tomatoes, chopped
4 tablespoons of palm oil
2 large potatoes, peeled
2 large carrots, peeled
1 sweet potato
1 kg Nile Perch filet, or other firm white fish, in pieces
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole, and gently fry the onions to a golden colour. Add the chorizo and the red pepper pieces and fry over a moderate heat. Stir in the garlic, chilli, paprika and the bay leaves and cook for a further minute or two. Add the tinned tomatoes and break them up with a wooden spoon. Allow to bubble for a few minutes and remove from the heat. Stir in the pepper paste, parsley, 250 ml hot water and the palm oil. Chop the potato, carrot and sweet potato into large chunks and stir into the sauce. Season the fish and lay on top of the mixture. Cover and cook in the oven for about 50 minutes. Stir carefully with a wooden spoon and return to the oven for another 20 minutes to a thick bubbling stew.
