Oto with boiled eggs

We ticked Ghana off our World Cup list with this dish of oto and hardboiled eggs. Traditionally eaten for breakfast, I opted to serve it for lunch, when I thought it might get a better reception. We ate with our hands, scooping up little clumps of oto and squashing them together, and added to the overall experience. I definitely liked it more than the rest of the family, none of whom scored it more than five. For the recipe, I looked at a few versions and came up with my own version. The Skinny Gourmet website goes into a lot of detail about how oto is often served for birthday or wedding breakfasts, and includes pictures of it being prepared.

Oto
(serves 6)

• 1 yam (the big, brown, hairy kind that are white inside)
• 2 medium red onions, chopped
• 1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup palm oil
• salt and pepper

1. Peel the yam and cut it into cubes.
2. Put the pieces in a large bowl, fill it with water, then slosh them round a bit, then drain and rinse well.
3. Boil the yam pieces in salted water until tender, about fifteen minutes.
4. While the yam is cooking, heat the palm oil in a frying pan, and slowly cook the onion.
5. In a separate pot, hard boil the eggs (about ten minutes).
6. Remove the cooked yam from the heat, drain and mash.
7. Stir in the sautéed onion, tomato and as much of the palm oil as you want to use. (I ended up including most of it.)
8. Spoon the oto into a large bowl. Cut the hardboiled eggs in half and arrange on top.

 Family score: 5.1 out of 10

Tags: African food, dairy-free, eggs, gluten-free, vegetarian, yams