Bitterballs

Ingredients

The fruit

• 500 gbitterballs, small African aubergines
• salt, for eating them raw

For a simple cooked dish

• 3 tablespoonsred palm oil
• 2onions, chopped
• 3garlic cloves, chopped
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1hot pepper, chopped
• 200 gsmoked fish, flaked
• 1stock cube
• 300 mlwater
• salt to taste

To serve

• rice
• or as part of torborgee
• or in pepper soup

Directions

1. Rinse the fruit thoroughly under cold water. Trim off the green calyx at the stem end. Cut them in half or leave them whole.
2. Sprinkle salt over them generously. Preparing them for cooking takes a moment. Rinse them and trim the stem ends. Cut them in half or into quarters. Boil them until soft, about fifteen minutes. Drain them and crush them in a mortar.
3. Heat the palm oil in a heavy pan. Warm it gently rather than fiercely. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Fry them for about eight minutes until golden.
4. Add the garlic and the hot pepper. Cook them for one minute more. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Let them break down for five minutes. Add the halved fruit to the pan.
5. Turn them through the oil and tomato. Add the flaked smoked fish now. Crumble in the stock cube as well. Pour in the measured water now. Bring the pan to a gentle simmer. Cover the pan and cook for fifteen minutes. The fruit should soften but keep some shape.
6. Taste the sauce as it is cooking. It should be bitter but not overwhelming. Add more tomato if it is too sharp for you.
7. Add salt, which softens bitterness considerably. Finishing it takes only a moment. Uncover the pan and reduce the sauce if it is thin. Taste it and adjust the salt again. It should be rich, savoury and clearly bitter.

Technique

• Solanum aethiopicum is grown across West Africa for both its fruit and its leaves, and several varieties exist.
• The Liberian name bitterballs has no connection to the Dutch snack bitterballen, which are fried meat croquettes.

Substitutions

• Frozen bitterballs are sold in African shops and work well.
• Small Thai green aubergines are the closest widely available relative, though they are much less bitter.

Variations

• Torborgee is the Liberian dish built on crushed bitterballs and bitter greens.
• Whole fruit is added to pepper soup for flavour and eaten alongside.
• The leaves of the same plant are also eaten as a green.

History

Grown in household gardens across Liberia, the bitter fruit is crushed into torborgee and pepper soup and eaten raw as a snack.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bitterballs?

Bitterballs is a salad & side from Liberia: small bitter African aubergines cooked in soups or eaten raw with salt. Grown in household gardens across Liberia, the bitter fruit is crushed into torborgee and pepper soup and eaten raw as a snack.

How long does Bitterballs take to make?

Bitterballs takes 15 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6 as part of a meal. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Bitterballs?

Yes, within limits. Frozen bitterballs are sold in African shops and work well. Small Thai green aubergines are the closest widely available relative, though they are much less bitter.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bitterballs?

Heat the palm oil in a heavy pan. Warm it gently rather than fiercely. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Fry them for about eight minutes until golden.