Gboma dessi

Ingredients

Greens

• 800 ggboma leaves
• or 800 g spinach
• water, for washing

The pot

• 200 gsmoked fish, flaked
• 200 gfresh fish, in pieces
• 6 tablespoonsred palm oil
• 2onions, chopped
• 5garlic cloves, crushed
• 5tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoonstomato paste
• 2chillies, chopped
• 2stock cubes
• about 400 ml water
• salt and black pepper

Sometimes added

• 2 tablespoonsground crayfish
• 100 gsmoked meat
• a little ground egusi

To serve

• akple or banku
• or fufu
• or plain rice

Directions

1. Warm it gently to melt it before use. Never let palm oil smoke or bleach in the pan. Pick the leaves from their stems. Discard any thick or woody stalks.
2. Wash them in several changes of cold water. Lift them out rather than pouring the water off. Chop the washed leaves roughly. Preparing the fish takes a moment. Flake the smoked fish off its bones. Check for bones very thoroughly.
3. Cut the fresh fish into pieces. Season both with a little salt. Warm the palm oil gently in a large pot. Add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook them for a good ten minutes.
4. Add the crushed garlic and the chillies. Cook them for a good two minutes. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good three minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Cook them down for about ten minutes. Mash them against the pan as they soften. The base should become thick and red.
5. Add the ground crayfish if using it. Add the chopped greens to the pot. They collapse down within a few minutes. Add the water and the stock cubes. Season it with salt and black pepper. Cooking them down takes real time. Cover it over and let it simmer. Give the greens about twenty-five minutes. Adjust the timing to what you are using. Stir the flaked smoked fish through.
6. Lay the fresh fish pieces on top. Do not stir the pot after that. Cover it and simmer for eight minutes. The greens should be fully tender. Oil should sit visibly at the surface. Taste it and adjust the salt to suit. It should be strongly flavoured.
7. Spoon it out into warm deep bowls. Serve akple alongside the bowl. Tear off a piece of the starch and dip it. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Gboma is Solanum macrocarpon, an African nightshade related to the aubergine, not an amaranth; its fruit is eaten as African eggplant and its leaves as this green.
• Gboma leaves carry a distinct slight bitterness that is expected and wanted, balancing the rich palm oil, and a spinach version tastes noticeably flatter for lacking it.
• Dessi means sauce or stew in Ewe, spoken across southern Togo and into Ghana and Benin, so the name is simply gboma stew.

Substitutions

• Spinach stands in for gboma, though it lacks the bitterness and cooks far faster.
• Any smoked fish works, and smoked meat is added alongside it in some households.

Variations

• Some cooks add ground crayfish or a little egusi to thicken the sauce.
• A version with more fresh fish and less smoked is made on the coast.
• Similar nightshade leaf stews are cooked across Ghana, Togo and Benin.

History

Built on gboma, the African nightshade leaf grown in southern Togolese gardens, stewed with palm oil and smoked fish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gboma dessi?

Gboma dessi is a soup & stew from Togo: african nightshade leaves stewed in palm oil with tomatoes and fish. Built on gboma, the African nightshade leaf grown in southern Togolese gardens, stewed with palm oil and smoked fish.

How long does Gboma dessi take to make?

Gboma dessi takes 35 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Gboma dessi?

Yes, within limits. Spinach stands in for gboma, though it lacks the bitterness and cooks far faster. Any smoked fish works, and smoked meat is added alongside it in some households.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gboma dessi?

Warm it gently to melt it before use. Never let palm oil smoke or bleach in the pan. Pick the leaves from their stems. Discard any thick or woody stalks.