Producer, director, journalist and author, Vérane Frédiani brings together in her work Africa cooks France a series of around twenty portraits of chefs including Georgiana Viou, starred chef of the Rouge restaurant in Nîmes or Mory Sacko, chef of the Mosuke restaurant, also starred in the Michelin guide, who is opening his third Parisian address these days. The rising stars of this Afropean cuisine take the reader through around sixty recipes, from sub-Saharan Africa to Marseille via Strasbourg, Rouen, Montpellier and Paris.
In another register, that of everyday cooking, an amateur cook stands out. Of Senegalese origin, NiangCook, real name Cheikh Niang, “food influencer”, whose TikTok profile exploded during confinement when he started offering videos of his recipes. Afro burger, mussels with peanut butter, express tomato rice, plantain pancakes… So many original and ultra-quick ideas to create to introduce yourself to the flavors of Africa or revisit a cuisine that invites sharing and the mix of inspirations.
In my library
Africa cooks in Francetexts and photos by Vérane Frédiani, editions of La Martinière, 272 p., €29.90
Express dishes with African flavors, Cheikh Niang’s recipesby @niangcook, photographs by Laurent Moynat, Solar editions, 168 p., €17.90
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The recipe
Okra in tempura, mango chili sauce
Recipe by Hugues Mbenda from the Kin restaurant in Marseille, taken from the book L’Afrique cuisine en France
For 6 people, preparation: 40 minutes, cooking: 35 minutes
Mango chili sauce:
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
2 ripe mangoes
20 to 30 ml of olive oil
1 West Indian pepper
Juice of 1 lime
20 g of sugar
2 pinches of salt
For the okra fritters:
500 g of flour
1 sachet of baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of Espelette pepper
33 cl of beer or sparkling water
36 buttons
For the sauce, finely slice the onion and chop the garlic. Peel the mangoes and cut them into cubes. Sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil, then add the mango cubes and the whole West Indian pepper. Let everything cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. Finally, add the lime juice, sugar and salt. Before blending, remove the whole pepper, take a quarter (you can add more or less depending on your taste), then blend.
To prepare the okra tempura, in a salad bowl, put the flour, baking powder, salt and Espelette pepper. Add the beer or sparkling water and mix with a whisk until the dough is smooth. Wash the okra, cut off their heads and drain them. Using a fork or toothpick, prick the okra and dip it in the tempura maker to cover the entire surface of the okra. Fry in a deep fryer at 180°C for 4 minutes. Drain in absorbent paper. Serve with the mango chili sauce.