#FoodTravelSeries Ep.4: A Taste Of Ghana

Dede takes us to Ghana with her Kontomire and egusi stew recipe. She says sometimes when she is homesick, one of her favourite things to make is Kontomire and egusi stew (spinach and melon seed stew with fish). Kontomire and egusi stew (spinach and melon seed stew with fish) is a Ghanaian delicacy made with cocoyam leaves, popularly known as kontomire and also called palava sauce.

Cocoyams leaves are incredibly nutritious and are good for eye health due to its richness in vitamin A in addition to vitamin C. Kontomire stew can be served with different dishes like boiled yam, rice and plantain. You can find cocoyam leaves is your local farmers market and African food stores. Cocoyams leaves can be swapped for spinach leaves and fish fillets of your choice can be used for this recipe. Salmon or Tilapia works well with this dish.  Fun fact: Ghana has the largest open-air market (Kejetia market) in West Africa located in Kumasi.⠀

Since Ghana is located on the west coast of Africa by the sea, you’ll find a lot of Ghanaian meals with fresh seafood. Most of the Ghanaian foods are reflective of the country’s history as well as the rich agriculture.

In this episode, Dede talks about Ghana’s year of return, an initiative of the government of Ghana to welcome back Africans in the Diaspora. She also shares a brief history of why Ghana used to be called the Gold Coast and some popular Ghanaian foods to try like Jollof rice, waakye, banku and kenkey.

Dede is a 28-year-old Ghanaian Certified Chef by profession, living in Canada with her little family. ”Although I haven’t worked for the past 2 years, I took some time off for mummy life but I am still in touch with the kitchen through menu consultations. I’ve always wanted to cook since I was about 10 years old and so I can truly say I am living my dream. Since the pandemic began I have been hosting Weekly group cooking classes on Instagram. We’re in our 8th week now this Friday and it’s been really fun. I teach people who have never cooked before how to make all kinds of meals and desserts and they’re always so happy. It’s very rewarding. Hoping to start my YouTube before the year ends so watch out for it.’’Please do check out @booveeay, she’s been cooking up some delicious food with live group cooking classes.

Makes 4 Servings | Prep Time: 15 minutes|Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Kontomire and Egusi Stew Ingredients:

• Fish fillets of choice, cut in cubes (Tilapia or salmon)
• 1 Large onion, sliced or diced
• 3 Cloves garlic, minced
• 300 ml Tomato paste or blended tomatoes
• 2 cups Melon seed, soaked and blended
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups of Red palm oil
• 3 Packets of chopped frozen spinach (3 x 500g)
• Seasoning cube
• Salt, to taste

How to make Kontomire and Egusi Stew:

You can watch Dede show you how to make Kontomire and Egusi Stew in the video below. If you do try Dede’s recipe, share your pictures by tagging myself and @booveeay, using the hashtag #FoodTravelSeries.

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@booveeay takes us to Ghana with her Kontomire and egusi stew recipe. 🇬🇭🇬🇭🇬🇭
Kontomire and egusi stew (spinach and melon seed stew with fish) is a Ghanaian delicacy made with cocoyam leaves, popularly known as kontomire and also called palava sauce.
Since Ghana is located on the west coast of Africa by the sea, you'll find a lot of Ghananian meals with fresh seafood. Most of Ghanaian foods are reflective of the country’s history as well as the rich agriculture.
In this episode, Dede talks about Ghana's year of return 2019, an initiative of the government of Ghana to welcome back Africans in the Diaspora. She also shares a brief history of why Ghana used to be called the Gold Coast and some popular Ghanaian foods to try like Jollof rice, waakye, banku and kenkey.
Dede is a 28 year old Ghanaian Certified Chef by profession, living in Canada with her little family.
''Although I haven’t worked for the past 2 years, I took some time off for mummy life but I am still in touch with the kitchen through menu consultations. I’ve always wanted to cook since I was about 10 years old and so I can truly say I am living my dream. Since the pandemic begun I have been hosting Weekly group cooking classes on Instagram. We’re in our 8th week now this Friday and it’s been really fun. I teach people who have never cooked before how to make all kinds of meals and desserts and they’re always so happy. It’s very rewarding. Hoping to start my YouTube before the year ends so watch out for it.’’
Please do check out @booveeay , she's been cooking up some delicious food with live group cooking classes. If you do try Dede's recipe, share your pictures by tagging myself and @booveeay, using the hashtag #FoodTravelSeries ⠀
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Thanks for tuning in! See you at the next episode of #FoodTravelSeries 🍽 • ⠀ • ⠀ • ⠀ • ⠀ ⠀ #culinaryExperience #blackfoodie #worldtravel #DeliciousAfricanfood⠀ #CookingShow⠀ #Stayhomeandcook ⠀ #Foodie #IGTV #Foodshow #cookingshow #community #Tasteoftravel #explorefood #blackfoodbloggers #exploredestinations #Travelandfood #foodtravelblogger #GlobalFood #Authenticcooking #foodtraveller #Supportlocalbusiness #Ghanaianfood #Ghanaiancuisine #Kontomirestew #Cookathome

A post shared by Joyce | Food and Travel (@diywithjoy_) on Jul 4, 2020 at 10:00am PDT

Check out some interesting facts about Ghana:

 Thanks for tuning in! See you in the next episode of #FoodTravelSeries.