Pinon

Ingredients

Sauce

• 800 gripe tomatoes, blended
• 3 tablespoonstomato paste
• 2onions, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, chopped
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 2hot chillies, chopped
• 150 mlred palm oil
• 1stock cube
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 400 mlwater

Gari

• 500 ggari, fine or medium grade
• water, for the sauce to absorb

To serve

• fried fish, whole or in pieces
• sliced raw onion
• extra chilli sauce

Directions

1. Heat it gently rather than fiercely. Blend the tomatoes with the chillies. Blend them until they are completely smooth. Heat the palm oil in a large heavy pot. Warm it over a medium heat only. Add the chopped onions to the pot.
2. Fry them slowly until soft and golden. Give them a good ten minutes there. Add the garlic and the ginger. Cook them for one more minute. Stir in all of the tomato paste. Fry it for two minutes to cook out the raw taste.
3. Pour in the blended fresh tomato. Bring the whole pot up to a simmer. Let it cook for twenty minutes. Stir it once every few minutes. The sauce should thicken and darken considerably. Add the stock cube and the salt. Taste it and make it strongly seasoned. Pour in the four hundred millilitres of water.
4. Bring the sauce back up to a simmer. The sauce should now be quite loose. Turn the heat right down to low. Sprinkle the gari over the sauce gradually. Do not tip it all in at once now.
5. Stir constantly as you add it. It will lump badly if added too fast. Keep stirring and breaking up any lumps. Add gari until the mixture looks moist and grainy. You may not need to use all of it.
6. Add hot water if it becomes too stiff. Cook it for a further five minutes. Stir it often so it does not catch. Taste it and adjust the salt again. Serving it is always done hot. Spoon it onto plates or into bowls.
7. Lay fried fish over or beside it. Add sliced raw onion on the side. Put extra chilli sauce on the table. Loosen leftovers with hot water when reheating.

Technique

• Gari is produced across West Africa and its fermentation and toasting are what make cassava safe to eat in this form.
• Bought gari needs no further processing and can be eaten straight from the bag.

Substitutions

• Any neutral oil can replace palm oil, though the colour and flavour change considerably.
• Fine or medium gari both work, but coarse gari stays too gritty.

Variations

• Some cooks add smoked fish directly into the sauce.
• A version with beans cooked alongside is called pinon with atassi in some places.
• Eba is the plainer preparation where gari is stirred into hot water alone.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pinon?

Pinon is a main from Togo: gari cooked in spicy red tomato broth, often with fried fish.

How long does Pinon take to make?

Pinon takes 20 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Pinon?

Yes, within limits. Any neutral oil can replace palm oil, though the colour and flavour change considerably. Fine or medium gari both work, but coarse gari stays too gritty.

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

Heat it gently rather than fiercely. Blend the tomatoes with the chillies. Blend them until they are completely smooth. Heat the palm oil in a large heavy pot. Warm it over a medium heat only. Add the chopped onions to the pot.