Fufu

Ingredients 1 yukka/cassava root, ½ cup butter, 2 plantains.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

As part of the World Cup Food Challenge 2014, this recipe represents a traditional meal of Ghana. Fufu is used as a side dish in the way we would eat mashed potato, but also in place of bread to scoop up soup. The plantain gives it a wonderful sweetness which I find works wonderfully with traditional peanut soup.

1) Peel the rough bark from the yukka/cassava root with a knife and chop off the ends. Dice into chunks the way you would a potato.

2) Bring to the boil in a pan of cold water and leave to simmer for 30 minutes until soft.

3) In the meantime, add the whole plantain to a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer until you see the skin begin to split, then remove and peel.

4) Add the cooked plantain and the yukka/cassava to a blender with the butter and puree until smooth and elastic.

5) Allow to cool just enough to handle, then serve with soup.

Plantain, stilton & broccoli burgers

Ingredients 1 plantain, 100g white stilton with apricots, 5 broccoli florets

Serves: 2 preparation: 1 hour

Plantains are fabulous. They're a kind of savoury banana that grow in tropical climates and are used quite a lot in Caribbean and Mexican cooking. When shopping for plantain please remember that the best ones are the ripe, almost completely black ones. Don't cook with unripe ones as the flavour and texture will probably put you off for life! This burger has a gorgeous thin crust, a slightly sticky soft centre and the gorgeous classic flavour combination of stilton and broccoli enriched with the sweetness of plantain and apricot.


1) Bring a pan of water to the boil and drop the entire plantain into it. Boil for 25-30 minutes. You will know it is ready as the skin will split and virtually peel itself! I like to steam the broccoli florets over the pan of boiling plantain but if you don't have a steamer, boil the broccoli in a separate pan for 20 minutes until soft.


2) Pulse the plantain in a blender, then add the crumbled cheese and drained broccoli.


3) The mixture should look a little like breadcrumbs but be moist enough to press together into patties with your hands. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until a golden crust has formed

Coconut & lentil soup with hazelnut & plantain dumplings

Ingredients 1 plantain, hazelnut butter, coconut  milk, vegetable/chicken stock, cumin, paprika, 2 cups lentils, coriander, cayenne pepper, bell pepper, orange.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour (plus overnight soaking)

The picture really doesn't do this soup justice - the luscious coconut, tangy orange and cumin and the beautiful delicate flavour of the dumplings make this a great soup to bring some sunshine to the winter months.

1) Soak the lentils overnight in cold water and rinse thoroughly under running water in a colander. Add into a pan with half a pint of vegetable/chicken stock with 1 tablespoon of cumin and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Stir through and allow to simmer whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

2) Dice a bell pepper and add into the pan along with a can of coconut milk and the juice of one orange. If you wish to heat things up, add a diced birds eye chilli too.

3) To make the dumplings; bring a pan of water to the boil and drop the entire plantain into it. Boil for 25-30 minutes. You will know it is ready as the skin will split and virtually peel itself! Remove the skin and add the flesh to a blender along with two teaspoons of hazelnut butter. Blend until a ball forms.

4) Pinch off pieces of the plantain mix and form tight balls by rolling between two palms. If you have any left over this makes a fabulous chicken stuffing.

5) Add the plantain dumplings to the soup and leave to simmer for at least 5 minutes. Serve with chopped coriander and a dusting of paprika.

Melting plantain & cashew burger

Ingredients 1 Plantain, cashew nuts, cheddar,  1 jalepeno, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil

Plantains are fabulous. They're a kind of savoury banana that grow in tropical climates and are used quite a lot in Caribbean and Mexican cooking. When shopping for plantain please remember that the best ones are the ripe, almost completely black ones. Don't cook with unripe ones as the flavour and texture will probably put you off for life! This burger has a gorgeous thin crust, slightly sticky soft plantain and a spicy melting centre. Definitely an ideal introduction to plantain if you've never tried it.


1) Bring a pan of water to the boil and drop the entire plantain into it. Boil for 25-30 minutes. You will know it is ready as the skin will split and virtually peel itself!


2) Blitz a handful of cashew nuts in the blender until you have rough chunks of nut. Add the peeled plantain into the blender and pulse until it combines with the nuts and a slightly sticky ball is formed.


3) Using your thumbs, depress a hollow into the ball and fill with grated cheddar and finely chopped jalepeno. Reform into a ball ensuring that the cheese is locked away in the centre. Season with chopped oregano, salt and pepper.


4) Add a few drops of olive oil into a frying pan and sizzle the burger for a few minutes before flipping over. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and serve.