I love Garri. It is one of those ingredients that we traditionally only use in one or two specific ways – eaten as eba to accompany soup, or soaked with cold water and sugar as a snack. But if you are willing to stretch your imagination beyond these common uses, and appraise Garri as a worthy ingredient in itself, it is possible to begin to see it in HD. Depending on how it is processed, it runs the gamut from mildly sweet to supremely tart. It is crunchy, starchy and processed to different degrees of fineness. In this recipe, I explored the idea of our dear friend Garri as a sort of breadcrumb; a light and whimsical coating, rather than a heavy main meal. It worked a treat, with its tart crunchy texture a beautiful counterpoint to the soft, sweet salmon, and adding the special unifying element that brought the salmon and the slaw together. I cannot wait for you to try this recipe.

 

Ingredients

1kg (2lb) salmon fillet, cubed (or use trout or other pink fish fillets)

2 cups of garri (dried fermented cassava)

2 cups cabbage, grated

2 cups carrots, grated

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 splash white wine vinegar

½ lemon juiced

4 tablespoons coconut oil

1 red cabbage, optional

Salt and black pepper to taste

 

Method

1. Toast the garri in the pan to create a crunchy crumb. Set aside. This is a simple but important step.
2. Season the salmon cubes with salt and pepper and fry them until lightly browned in the coconut oil. Toss the salmon cubes in the garri to coat them and set aside. 
3. Next mix the cabbage, carrots, onion, mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl to make the coleslaw. 
4. If using red cabbage, peel back the leaves to create individual serving cups and place a serving of slaw in each cabbage cup. Top with the garri crusted salmon and serve. If not using red cabbage, use individual serving bowls. 

 

This recipe is from Season 1 Episode 6 of Minjiba Entertains, commissioned by The Africa Channel and showing on RealTime DSTV Channel 155, Emirates in-Flight Entertainment, Amazon Prime, and Demand Africa.