Soups & Stews

Asaro

Name: Asaro
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 1 kg white yam (peeled weight; cut into 3 cm cubes); 200 g red bell pepper (seeded); 150 g tomato (chopped); 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (or half for less heat); 150 g onion (half roughly chopped, half sliced); 750 ml water; 250 ml additional hot water (if needed); 75 ml red palm oil; 1 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 200 g smoked mackerel flesh (deboned); 75 g efo tete, ugu, or spinach (washed and finely sliced; optional); 0.75 tsp fine salt (plus more to taste)

Soft yam chunks in a thick pepper-and-palm-oil sauce with smoked fish and a little leafy green. Yam pottage is eaten across Nigeria, with variations in seasoning, fish, and greens. Lola Osinkolu identifies asaro particularly with Yoruba-speaking communities. Unlike ikokore, which uses grated water yam, this pot begins with pieces of white yam and thickens when some of those pieces are broken into the cooking liquid. Cultural context: Asaro is the Yoruba name used here for a palm-oil yam pottage; other Nigerian communities have their own yam-porridge preparations.

Asaro yam pottage with onion and pepper pieces

Photo by Oyebolaesther · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

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20 minPreparation

40 minCooking

4Servings

What you’ll need

4 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Rinse the yam pieces and place them in a broad saucepan. Blend the bell pepper, tomato, chilli, and roughly chopped onion.
2
Add the blend, 750 ml water, and salt to the yam. Bring to a boil, then simmer partly covered for 15 minutes.
3
Add the palm oil, sliced onion, and crayfish. Simmer for another 10–15 minutes, until a fork passes easily through the yam. Add small amounts of reserved water if it dries before becoming tender.
4
Press about one-third of the yam pieces against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Stir the resulting mash through the liquid to make a thick sauce.
5
Fold in the smoked fish and optional greens. Cook gently for 4–5 minutes, until everything is hot and the leaves are tender.
6
Adjust salt and loosen with a splash of hot water if needed. Let the pot stand for 3 minutes before serving; it thickens further off the heat.

A little kitchen wisdom

Use true white yam, not orange sweet potato. Break up more yam for a smoother texture, or less for clearly defined chunks. Timing: active preparation 20 min; cooking 40 min; additional passive time 0 min; conservative planning allowance 60 min. Some stages may overlap. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Fish; Crustacean shellfish

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Yam pottage, Yam porridge

Asaro is the Yoruba name used here for a palm-oil yam pottage; other Nigerian communities have their own yam-porridge preparations.

Allergens: Fish, Crustacean shellfish