Filo tart with zucchini and smoked cheese

Our for a walk in North Ridge, we met some of our old neighbourhood goats. It’s still pleasantly cool, lovely to be able to walk without immediately dripping with sweat. Weekend mornings the streets are relatively quiet, many of the small shops are closed, and we can walk quietly, with an occasional honk from passing taxis. The goats were observed near +233 jazz club, where there is also a flat area used as a football training pitch.

Here they sell lottery tickets or phone scratch cards? Not sure. Anyway, I am back in Accra for three weeks between trips. Traveling so much does disrupt cooking routines, like making sure there are fresh vegetables you feel like cooking with, but not accumulating food that will not keep until you are back. Here, I realized I had three packets of filo pastry, some precious zucchini and some scamorza (smoked cheese), so this was thrown together for a quick dinner.

Filo tart with zucchini and smoked cheese

Filo pastry: I  used three oven-tray sized sheets, and froze the rest
3 tbs melted butter
3 zucchini, sliced in thin half moons
1 yellow onion
salt, pepper
250 grammes scamorza (smoked cheese), or another meltable cheese of your choice

Line oven tray with baking parchment or a silicon mat. Heat oven to 220C. Unfold two sheets of filo pastry on baking sheet, and brush top one with melted butter. Lay third filo pastry sheet on top, and brush with last melted butter. Chop the zucchini once lengthwise, then slice into half moons. Scatter the zucchini evenly across pastry. Chop the peeled onion, and scatter this across tray as well. Add some generous pinches of black pepper and salt. Chop or grate the cheese, spread it on top of zucchinis and onions, then bake at 220C until cheese is melted and golden. Use scissors to cut.

Tro-tro (minibus taxi) of the week: Doctor Jesus.

 

Weekend in Rome, bread baking again

I had three days in Rome, and as usual baked some bread, between seeing friends and sorting bank issues. I’d bought some buckwheat flour in Paris to make crêpes, and used some here. Some items in my food cupboards in Accra and Rome have terrible food miles. Anyway, I wanted an everyday loaf that would freeze and slice well, so I keep trying variations of no-knead bread. This is getting close to what I have in mind. Sourdough would be better, hopefully I can get back to that eventually.

At my old bus stop in Garbatella: things do not change that much.

 

May weekend bread  (this made 4 small loaves)

25 g fresh yeast (or 12 grammes dry yeast)
3 tsp salt
1300 grammes white wheat flour (here, 00)
250 grammes wholewheat flour
100 grammes fine rye flour
100 grammes buckwheat flour (farine de sarassin)
50 grammes flax seeds

1.5 litre water  (sorry I forgot this when first posting)

Dissolve the fresh yeast in the water, then add everything else. Mix everything well, fold and fold with a strong spatula. Cover bowl (I use a plastic shower cap) and leave it to double for a few hours at room temperature. I folded it again, then divided dough between four mall parchment-lined bread tins. With bigger tins this might make 3 large loaves. Leave to double again, with a kitchen towel covering the tins. Heat oven to 230C and slash the tops with scissors right before loaves go in, so edges do not crack. Bake for 45 minutes or so, depending on your oven. Cool on rack before slicing.

Note: this dough was a little less wet than last time.

Garbage piling up in Rome. There is a good system for separating rubbish (bins for plastic and aluminum, paper, organic, glass and then the rest) but when it does not get collected, it quickly accumulates. Accra is not the only city with a waste problem.

On a more pleasant note, despite the bad graffiti, the street shrines are still there, with plastic flowers and candles.

More Accra snapshots

Oh, the joy of the rainy season! Amazing what a few degrees temperature drop means in terms of ambling around town actually being pleasant. Rather than Ubering, I have been walking and exploring new streets in our area of Accra.

Walking to Osu one day: goats! Small but glossy. I have a work trip coming up and wanted to get some Ghanaian chocolate as gifts for the hosts: Niche has a new multipack, good for sharing.  I was quite pleased to see this new coffee in Shoprite: still robusta coffee, but the packaging is very Accra, with the the Jamestown lighthouse. Definitely need to get some to try. 37 cedi is about … 7 USD.

New street explored, new food place to try when open.

Food for the soul as well: they do like religious events here. Prophets, apostles: there are always posters for past and upcoming encounters.

Some modern skyline for you, at the African Union roundabout.

And some outfits in the gorgeous local fabric: here, you can wear this every day. The longer I am here, the colorful my wardrobe gets.