Foutou

Ingredients

Foutou banane

• 6ripe plantains
• 2cassava roots, about 400 g, peeled

or Foutou igname

• 1 kgyam, peeled and cut in chunks

Also

• water for boiling
• a little warm water for the pounding
• salt, optional

To serve

• sauce graine, palm nut sauce
• or sauce arachide, peanut sauce
• or kedjenou, or sauce claire

Equipment

• a large wooden mortar and pestle

Directions

1. Peel it deeply, removing the thick pink or brown layer under the skin entirely, and cut out the woody core. Now boil everything until it is genuinely soft. Cut the peeled plantain and cassava into chunks and boil them in salted water for twenty to thirty minutes.
2. Cook them past the point of tenderness, since anything still firm will not break down and will leave lumps that never disappear. A piece should collapse when pressed against the side of the pot with a spoon.
3. Drain them and keep a little of the cooking water. Put the hot cooked pieces into a large wooden mortar, a few at a time rather than all at once. Work in batches, since an overfull mortar cannot be pounded properly and the mixture ends up uneven. Pound with a heavy wooden pestle, lifting it high and letting its weight do the work.
4. Let the pestle fall rather than driving it down with force, which is both more effective and far less exhausting. That turning and folding is what makes it smooth and elastic, and pounding alone simply flattens it.
5. Add a very little warm water if it becomes too stiff to work. Add water sparingly, a spoonful at a time, since too much gives a sloppy foutou that will not hold its shape. Keep pounding and folding for ten to fifteen minutes.
6. Keep going well past the point where it looks done, since the elasticity develops only with sustained work. It is ready when it is completely smooth, glossy, and stretches when you pull a piece away.
7. Shape it hot, since it stiffens as it cools and cannot be smoothed afterwards. Set each ball in a bowl and ladle the sauce around or over it. Serve it immediately, since foutou is at its best hot and goes firm and heavy as it cools.

Technique

• The cassava is what gives foutou its elasticity.
• It is deliberately unseasoned, since the sauce carries the flavour.
• Cassava must always be peeled and cooked thoroughly, never eaten raw.

Substitutions

• Foutou igname, made from yam alone.
• Instant fufu flour, which is a common shortcut but gives a different texture.

Variations

• Foutou igname, made with yam only.
• With more cassava, for a more elastic result.
• Served with sauce arachide, the peanut sauce.

Frequently asked questions

What is Foutou?

Foutou is a main from Côte d’Ivoire: elastic pounded plantain or yam balls dipped in rich sauces.

How long does Foutou take to make?

Foutou takes 20 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Foutou?

Yes, within limits. Foutou igname, made from yam alone. Instant fufu flour, which is a common shortcut but gives a different texture.

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

Cook them past the point of tenderness, since anything still firm will not break down and will leave lumps that never disappear. A piece should collapse when pressed against the side of the pot with a spoon.