#Poulet D.G.

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Poulet D.G. (Chicken E. O.)

Poulet D.G. --a play on P.D.G* which very conveniently (for once!) translates into Chicken E. O.!-- is a hearty and tasty Cameroonian chicken and vegetable stew. The best I ever had was years ago, very late one night, at my Dad’s aunt, Ma Cri’s restaurant. It had been wort waiting for, and the delicious, generous meal had invigorated me back to wakefulness. Mine is not too bad either, I reckon, and makes an excellent lunch. Especially when coming back from the garden after a morning spent pottering, tilling, trimming and perhaps even sowing! Happy Sunday!

*P.D.G. (Président Directeur Général) is the French-language equivalent of C.E.O. (Chief Executive Officer)

Ingredients (serves 3):

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 chicken thighs

1 large onion

a thumb-sized piec fresh ginger

2 large carrots

1/3 green bell pepper, rinsed

1/3 red bell pepper, rinsed

1/3 yellow bell pepper, rinsed

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 bay leaves

3/4 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes (or more if you like your food spicy)

2 ripe small tomatoes

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 1/2 cup water

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large, just ripe plantain banana

a handful fresh (or blanched and frozen) Wax Beans and Green Beans

Heat peanut oil and olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs, and brown well, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken thighs to a plate, keeping all the fat in the pot; set aside.

Peel and thinly slice onion, and add to the pot. Cook, a couple of minutes until softened.

Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice ginger. Add to the onion, and fry, a couple of minutes more. 

Peel carrots, and cut them into thick slices. Stir into the pot.

Seed and cut bell peppers into strips. Add to the pot as well. Cook, about 4 minutes.

Stir in minced garlic, bay leaves and Red Chili Flakes. Cook, 1 minute more, before returning browned chicken thighs, along with their resting juices, to the pot. Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.

Dice tomatoes, and stir into the pot. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes collapse and release their juice. Stir in water, just to cover the vegetables. You may not need all of it. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and simmer.

In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Peel plantain, and cut into thick slices. Once the oil is hot, add plantain slices, and fry them, about 3 minutes on each side. Once well-browned on each side, remove fried plantains slices onto a plate. Set aside.

If using fresh Wax Beans and Green Beans, stir them into the pot after about 20 minutes of simmering, and cook, a further 10 minutes. If you had blanched and frozen them, add Wax Beans and Green Beans after about 25 minutes of cooking, and cook, a further 5 minutes.

Increase heat back to high, remove the lid, and add fried plantain slices to the pot. Cook, about 3 minutes more.

Serve Poulet D.G. hot.

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Winter Comforting Stews

And on cold days when you fancy something warming and hearty, these Winter Comforting Stews are just what you are looking for. Slowly simmered meat or fish, in a broth or thick sauce, but always fragrant and tasty! These few recipes, from all over the world, make one relish a a numbing chill!

Poulet D.G. (Chicken E. O.)

Stoofvlees (Dutch Beef and Beer Stew)

Spinach, Sweet Potato and Lentil Dahl (Vegan)

Potée Auvergnate (Ham Hock, Sausage and Vegetable Stew)

Bourguignon Stew with Cheese Dumplings

Poulet Basquaise (Basque Chicken)

Prawn and Trout Bouillabaisse

Sea Bass with Potatoes and Carrots in Saffron Cream

Burns Night Scotch Broth 

Petit Salé aux Lentilles (Ham Hock and Lentil Stew) 

Lamb Tagine

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry

Hearty Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken Mafé

Beef Stew with Fluffy Dumplings

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Petit Piment (Ginger and Onion Condiment)

In Cameroon, all dishes are served with a healthy dose of piment (hot chili sauce), and it really is hot chili! Sweat and cough-inducing hot! So, when Jules and I were little, our grandmother would make what she called Petit Piment (literally, small chili), a fragrant condiment made with ginger and onion. The fresh ginger brought enough heat to our young palates and we loved it. I’ve attempted for years to try and make it as I remembered it, flavourful and so delicious we’d sometimes plunge our hands in the jar and lick our fingers with delectation... I reckon Ma Elizabeth’s will always be the best, but my Petit Piment is good nonetheless!

Ingredients (makes a small jar):

2 large garlic cloves

a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 piece fresh ginger, tall as a thumb but wider

1/2 small white onion

2 fluffy sprigs fresh Parsley

4 tablespoons olive oil

Peel garlic cloves and add to a mortar. Crush them with the pestle, grinding them into a paste. Season with salt and black pepper, grinding them in.

Peel ginger, and grate into the mortar. Keep grinding with the pestle, to combine. 

Peel and finely chop onion and Garden Parsley, and stir into the garlic and ginger paste. Muddle once more, until well-combined. Then, gradually stir in three tablespoons of the olive oil.

Spoon into a sterelised small glass jar, and top with remaining olive oil. Keep in the refrigerator, up to three weeks, making sure it is always covered with oil.

Use Petit Piment in stews, as a marinade for fish or meat alike, or as a condiment to drizzle over Poulet D.G., Chicken Mafé, grilled steaks, or to dip Fried Plantain in!