Ingredients
Cassava
- 2 kgcassava, sweet variety
- water, for boiling
- 1 teaspoonsalt, optional
Equipment
- a large wooden mortar
- a long wooden pestle
- or a strong stand mixer
- a bowl of cold water, for hands
To serve
- palm butter soup
- or potato greens
- or cassava leaf soup
- or pepper soup
- meat or fish, from the soup
Directions
- Peel away the whole pink layer under the bark. Never taste the raw root at any point. Cut the root into manageable lengths. Stand each length up on the board. Slice the skin off downwards in strips. A vegetable peeler is not strong enough. Take off the whole pink layer beneath the bark.
- Pull out the woody core running through it. That core is fibrous and never softens. Cut the peeled cassava into large chunks. Put them in a large pot of water. Bring the whole pot up to a boil.
- Let it cook for about thirty minutes. It should be completely soft throughout. Drain the cooked cassava thoroughly. Keep a cup of the cooking water back. Let it steam dry for a moment.
- Put the hot chunks in a large wooden mortar. Work while they are still genuinely hot. Cold cassava goes hard and will not pound.
- Begin by crushing them down with the pestle. It is often done by two people together. Keep pounding until it is completely smooth. Pull a piece and it should stretch a little. It should have no lumps or grain at all. Add a splash of hot water if it seizes.
- Work in batches while the cassava is hot. Shaping it takes properly wet hands. Take a portion of the pounded mass. Roll it into a smooth ball between your palms. Water stops it sticking to your hands.
- Set each ball into a serving bowl. Serving it is done immediately. Ladle soup around it rather than over it. Tear off a piece with your fingers. Make a small hollow in it with your thumb. Dip the torn piece into the soup. It does not keep well at all cold.
Technique
- All cassava contains cyanogenic compounds, so it must be peeled thickly to remove the whole pink layer under the bark, the woody core pulled out, and the root boiled thoroughly; never taste it raw.
- Dumboy is cassava pounded softer and wetter while geebee is pounded stiffer and drier, and the two are close relatives whose names some cooks use loosely.
- The pounding is genuinely hard work, often done by two people with one striking while the other turns and folds the mass with a wetted hand between strokes.
Substitutions
- A strong stand mixer with a dough hook approximates the pounding while the cassava is hot.
- Electric fufu machines are sold across West Africa and are now widely used.
Variations
- Dumboy is the softer wetter version of the same pounded cassava.
- Some cooks pound plantain in with the cassava.
- Palm butter soup, potato greens and cassava leaf all go with it.
History
A staple of Nimba County and the interior, eaten by hand with soups in place of rice.
Frequently asked questions
What is Geebee?
Geebee is a main from Liberia: cassava pounded to a stiff dough, torn and dipped into soup. A staple of Nimba County and the interior, eaten by hand with soups in place of rice.
How long does Geebee take to make?
Geebee takes 30 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Geebee?
Yes, within limits. A strong stand mixer with a dough hook approximates the pounding while the cassava is hot. Electric fufu machines are sold across West Africa and are now widely used.
What is the most important thing to get right in Geebee?
Peel away the whole pink layer under the bark. Never taste the raw root at any point. Cut the root into manageable lengths. Stand each length up on the board. Slice the skin off downwards in strips. A vegetable peeler is not strong enough. Take off the whole pink layer beneath the bark.
