A thick, creamy sauce extracted from the pulp of palm fruit, simmered with crab, smoked fish, tomatoes, and spices. The rich orange sauce is Benin's most prized accompaniment.
Ingredients
2 lbs palm fruit pulp
1 lb crab cleaned
200g smoked fish
2 tomatoes chopped
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic
1 scotch bonnet pepper
salt to taste
2 cups water
Instructions
1Boil palm fruits until soft, pound in mortar to extract cream, strain through sieve.
2Heat the palm cream in a pot and bring to a simmer.
3Add smoked fish, crab, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and scotch bonnet.
4Simmer on low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until oil separates.
5Adjust seasoning and serve over pate or rice.
Did You Know?
The moment the red palm oil separates and floats on top of the sauce is called 'the sauce has given its oil' and signals it is perfectly cooked.