Here is a list of some of the top favorites:

Buka – Nigerian food, with its mashes, soups, peanut-dusted brochettes, and bean porridges, in an upscale setting at Buka, located on the border between Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy. Watch the chalkboard outside for specials.

La Galette – While most Senegalese restaurants are devoutly Muslim and offer no alcohol, the obscurely located La Galette serves wine, with a menu that elevates national standards and offers a West African take on French food, too, the way it’s made in the streets of Dakar. This is a great place to eat nems, the North Vietnamese spring rolls that caused a sensation when they were introduced to the Senegalese capital 60 years ago.

Accra – The city’s most ambitious Ghanaian restaurant (named after the capital) offers over 100 delicious dishes, which you can admire on the mile-long steam table. This arrangement also allows you to pick and choose those you like best. Go conservative with a roast fish or chicken and polished rice with relish, or go wild with slimy leaf-based sauces, okra- and black-eyed-pea-based dishes, or boiled eggs and greens flavored with dried stockfish.

Fatima – Don’t be deterred by the very modest nature of this Crown Heights establishment, which slings the very best Guinean food in town. A steam table has been installed, which allows you to dash in, select what you want, have it weighed, and enjoy. They have cassava-leaf or potato-leaf sauces, richly dotted with lamb or beef, and request the fiery scotch-bonnet sauce called Pima.

Maima’s – This cheerful spot a few blocks south of downtown Jamaica — featured in this year’s Choice Eats — is the city’s only Liberian restaurant, run by immigrants from a country founded by slaves freed after the American Civil War. Specialties you should try include “dry rice” (not dry in the least, cooked with okra and bitter ball — a type of eggplant), pepper shrimp (made incendiary with the spice called grains of paradise), plantain fufu and mixed-meat soup.

© EthLeen

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Serves: 2-3

Time:  30 -40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1kg of chicken (Any part  but legs preferably)
• 1 bouillon cube or Magui cube
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 teaspoon White or black pepper (or both)
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 3 garlic gloves, grated
• 1  teaspoon Thyme leaves (Fresh or dried)
• ½ teaspoon Chili pepper or to taste
• ½ teaspoon of curry powder
• ½ cup of water
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt to taste

Direction:

Step 1: Add the chicken in a pot with all the spices and seasonings (pepper, curry, onions, garlic, ginger, bouillon cube, ..)

Add the water and salt, then bring to a boil for about 15-20 minutes

You will need to stir occasionally to help to flavor come together.

After 20 minutes, remove the chicken and set aside.

Step 2: Heat the vegetable oil on medium heat and fry the chicken until golden brown and remove.

For a healthier version you can also grill the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes.

It can be served with  tomato sauce, or with anything you want, such as Attieke, Jollof Rice or Couscous.

Enjoy!

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Ingredients

• Salt
• 225g orecchiette pasta cooked to al dente
• 2 tbsp orange marmalade
• 1 small clove garlic grated or very finely chopped
• 1 tsp finely chopped oregano leaves from 2 sprigs
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 80ml extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head radicchio (red chicory)
• ½ small red onion chopped

Directions

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil add salt and cook the pasta to al dente.
2. In a mixing bowl whisk together the orange marmalade garlic oregano mustard and vinegar. Stream the olive oil into the dressing while whisking; season with salt and pepper.
3. Pull off 8 of the outer leaves of the radicchio. Form serving cups for the pasta salad from the leaves using 2 leaves to form each bowl. Chop the remaining radicchio.
4. Toss the chopped radicchio pasta and chopped onions with the dressing to combine. Serve the pasta in the lettuce bowls.

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Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 680 g plain flour
• 680 g caster sugar
• 1½ tsps bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 170 g sour cream
• 2 tsps pure vanilla essence
• 340 g unsalted butter
• 170 g cocoa powder
• 340 ml hot water
• For the icing:
• 115 g unsalted butter
• 115 g smooth peanut butter
• 900 g icing sugar
• 70 ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 115 g chopped walnuts optional

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. Grease and flour a 45 by 33 cm rimmed baking sheet.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour sugar bicarbonate of soda and salt. In a separate mixing bowl beat the eggs and mix in the sour cream and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture mixing until just combined.
3. In a saucepan over medium-high heat melt the butter and stir in the cocoa powder and hot water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from the heat. Cool slightly and incorporate the cocoa mixture with the dry ingredients mixing just until blended.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 mins or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

For the frosting:

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Add the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Remove from the heat. In a separate large bowl whisk together the milk and powdered sugar until fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla and slowly incorporate the peanut butter mixture blending well after each addition.
2. Frost the cake while both the frosting and cake are still warm. Top with nuts if desired.
3. Cook’s Note: Making a sheet cake is the best bang for your buck when it comes to dessert for a group. To vamp it up take small biscuit cutters and create tiered cakes that can be dusted with powdered sugar. Cake scraps can be saved for a delicious trifle the next day.

Sheet Cake Variations:

1. Chocolate Fudge Frosting: instead of peanut butter frosting replace peanut butter in frosting recipe with 70 g cocoa powder. Prepare the frosting the same way.
2. Toasted Coconut: In addition to topping with nuts top cake with toasted coconut.
3. Caramel/Fudge Cake: Drizzle warm caramel sauce and/or fudge sauce over frosting just before serving.

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