Prior to my arrival in Togo, I learned that the favorite local dish in Togo was fufu. Everyone, everywhere seems to love the stuff.  Well, everyone but me, that is. Fufu is made from cassava roots that are somehow prepared like Play-Doh.  I'm not sure exactly how it is achieved.  But, regardless, you pinch a glob of it, swirl it in soup with your fingers, and then swallow it whole.  Then, it just sits in your stomach.  If this piques your interest, you can make instant fufu by combining tapioca pudding with instant mashed potato flakes.

I pass.

I learned to not like fufu when I first arrived in Liberia.  It didn't take long to vow that cassava root would never enter my home in any way shape or form.  And, I never changed my mind.  After fufu, it appears that akoume is the runner-up favorite dish that is enjoyed in this part of West Africa.  It's very similar to fufu, except it is made from corn meal.  Now, fortunately, I can eat corn meal.  I was willing to try akoume.  But, you don't just eat the corn meal.  You eat it with some kind of sauce.  It also appears that a fork is acceptable, because I was served silverware.  That isn't always guaranteed.

When I was served Akoume, each person received their dough balls in two little Tupperware cups.  If my mother ever made the dish, she would never have bothered with the cups. S he would have globbed it on the plate like mashed potatoes.

Akoume
Lomé, Togo

Combine the corn flower with two cups of water.  Mix well.  Bring the water to a boil and then add the cup of flour.  Dilute the potato starch (which I have never heard of) with one cup of water, and then add it to the other ingredients.

Stir the mixture for two or three minutes.  Cover the pot, and let everything cook over medium heat for five minutes.

When the dough is ready, you want to form little balls similar to dumplings.  If you have access to banana leaves, you might want to wrap your individual globs of akoume in them.  Otherwise, as they did at the restaurant where I ate, figure out a way to give each client two balls of akoume dough.

You can't just have dough balls made from corn flour.  That would never do.  You have to have a sauce to go with your akoume.  There are several to choose from.  The one that I saw most often was called gboma dessi.  "Gboma" is what spinach is called in Togo.  Gboma Dessi was served with a fancy plate I'd never seen before.  Actually, it was two plates, joined together. One was for the dumpling and the other was for the sauce.

Gboma Dessi
Lomé, Togo

Sauté the onion, 1 clove of garlic, and the ginger in some oil for two minutes. Add in with this the meat (beef or goat), salt and pepper, and one cube of chicken bouillon.  Then cover it with water.  Cook at high heat for fifteen minutes and then reduce the heat and continue cooking for 45 minutes.

Remove the meat from the pan while saving the broth.  Season your meat with gbotemi (if you can find it) or create your own version with cloves, anise, ajwain (an herb also called bishop's weed and in the same family as cumin), and cardamom seeds all roasted together and mixed with ground ginger.  In researching recipes, I learned that "gbotemi" means "listen to me" or "do what I say".  According to legend, cunning wives made this spice to make their husbands shape up, at least in the woman's mind.  There are no guarantees if it works, however, no matter how delicious.

While the meat is cooking, wash the spinach leaves.  (A task never once done in my kitchen so far.)  Bring them to a boil in salted water and let them bubble away for 15 minutes.  Then, cut them into thin slices.

In your remaining oil, sauté the onions and 2 garlic cloves.  Add in the tomato sauce, pepper to taste, 1 cube of bouillon, and hot peppers.  Stir frequently for 15 minutes.

Add your broth to the pot and continue over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes. Add the spinach slices and the meat into the pot and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.