Last Updated on September 11, 2021 by Chef Mireille
African Plantain Corn Soup
African Plantain Corn Soup is a quick and easy soup for lunch that gets done quickly. Vegetarian and Gluten Free, it is easily adapted to Vegan.
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Africa is a diverse continent with diverse cuisines. This African Plantain Corn Soup is transporting you to the French influenced African nation of Cameroon.
Living in multi-cultural New York, I have encountered many Africans whether by friendship or co-workers or casual meetings. Ghanians, Senegalese, Nigerians, South Africans and Kenyans are the people I have encountered. When I got introduced to this soup recipe from Cameroon, I was immediately intrigued to read more about the country, since I knew absolutely nothing about it, except for seeing them play during the World Cup.
Cameroon
Cameroon is located on the western coast of Central Africa. It is often referred to as Africa in miniature because of its cultural diversity, with over 200 languages spoken.
It’s slightly larger than the US state of California and relatively politically stable, when compared with other African countries. The name actually is the English translation of the word shrimp from the Portuguese who landed in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camaroes (Shrimp River).
For many years, the country was divided with half of it being under British rule and the other half under French rule. The French influence is evident in this recipe with the use of tarragon.
Tarragon is used widely in French cuisine, but is not a common herb in other cuisines. It has an almost fennel like flavor. If you don’t have tarragon, a little fennel seed would be a good substitute.
Make it vegan
Although butter is used in this recipe, it can easily be replaced with oil to make it vegan.
Are you as big a fan of plantain as I am?
Whether green or ripe, plantain is such a versatile ingredient that can be used in everything from breakfast porridge to dessert and soups, stews and curries.
Is plantain a new ingredient for you? If so, you definitely want to check out Making Fried Plantain, where I detail how to pick and peel both ripe and green plantain.
Then you are going to want to visit some of my other Plantain Recipes.
Plantain Recipes
- Banane Peze – Haitian Double Fried Plantain
- Spiced Plantain Chips
- Plantain Custard
- Cabbage Plantain Poriyal
- Plantain Podimas
- Kai Pola – Gluten Free Plantain Cake
- Bakabana – Sweet Plantain Fritters
- Plantain Spinach Smoothie
- Balekai Podi – Indian Plantain Fritters
- Plantain Curry
- Tatale – Ghanian Plantain Fritters
- Plantian Peanut Soup
- Suriname Style Peanut Soup with Tom Tom (Plantain Balls)
- Tunisian Plantain Street Food Snack
Plantain Corn Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 ripe yellow plantains peeled and sliced
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 cup canned corn
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 4 cups water
- 1 bouillon cube
- 1 green chile finely chopped
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg freshly grated
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a pot. Add onion and garlic.
- Saute for a few minutes until onion is softened.
- Add plantains, tomato and corn.
- Saute for 5 minutes.
- Add tarragon, water, bouillon, chili, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until the plantains are tender.
- Add nutmeg and stir to combine.
- Adjust seasoning as needed.
Nutrition
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Very different kind of soup. It must be on the sweeter side. Would love to try it out sometime.
its a great balance of flavors between both sweet and savory. I am sure you will love this soup when you try it.
Made it tonight. I love it. No added sugar but sweet.I probably could’ve added more tarragon. I used dry tarragon. It was Just what I needed.
glad you liked it