The Ultimate Asaro (Yam Pottage)
The other day, someone reached out to me asking if I had an Asaro (Yam Pottage) recipe, I could share and I could have sworn I had one. But alas, guess who had none on their blog? Well, so I realized I had it written halfway but never gotten to post it so here's a whole new post on Ultimate Yam Pottage.
This is a post that will have you salivating as you read and a very expensive recipe. Do you know how much Yam costs in the United States of America? I had to save all of... don't even get me started.
This recipe can be made in so many ways. Some people prefer it dry, others with a lot more sauce. I love it somewhere in the middle. Growing up, Asaro (Yam Pottage) was usually eaten on Thursday/Saturday evenings, I have no idea why but I only remember eating it on those days. Some days, it was beef, on some days it was just fish.
Ingredients
- 4 Potatoes
- 5 Tomatoes
- 1 Red Onion
- 4 Habaneros
- 1 lb of Ponmo
- 2 Bell Peppers
- 3 Tilapia Fillets
- 6 Slices of Yam
- 2 Ripe Plantains
- 2 Chicken Thighs
- 3 tbsp of Crayfish
- 1 lb of Raw Shrimp
- 1 Cup of Smoked Fish
- Palm Oil
- Vegetable Oil
- 3 Cups of Chopped Greens
For this recipe, I am doing an "ultimate" version. Ultimate Yam Pottage in the sense it has everything you can imagine. It is a carb, protein, and goodness overload.
This recipe can be modified to fit whatever preferences you might have, protein or carb-wise. I have used plantains and sweet potatoes to add a sweet note to this dish, yam because it is a regular culprit, Ponmo because I can, crayfish, shrimp and fresh fish for that seafood flavour and chicken (because who doesn't love chicken).
Directions
- Blend your tomatoes, onions, habaneros and bell peppers very finely with 2 cups of water. Just like you want to make a slightly watery thick Nigerian Stew.
- Heat a cooking spoon of Vegetable Oil and Palm Oil and add blended peppers along with the crayfish, smoked fish, ponmo, and chicken, season with salt or seasoning cubes, and white pepper to taste and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
- While this is going on, prep your yams, peel, clean and chop them into smaller chunks and leave these soaked in water. Your stew base should be simmering and filling your house with a nice aroma.
- Add your yam, potatoes and plantain into the pot, along with the rest of your proteins. Let this cook for 40-50 minutes.
- After 30 minutes you want to stir the contents of the pot so the cooked carbs can thicken the stew base. Chop up your washed greens and add to the pot. Let this simmer for 3-5 minutes on low heat and it's done.
- For best results, let your porridge sit for about 10-12 minutes then serve and eat. It's just what I am used to and has become a tradition.
