The Flygerians Cookbook E-Book

Jess Edun

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 156

Beschreibung

Recipes for delicious home-cooked food from Nigerian sisters The Flygerians, leading personalities in the fast-emerging and popular West African food scene. 'Street food with a touch of magic, The Flygerians deserve to soar high' – Jimi Famurewa, award-winning food critic, The Evening Standard Meet two inseparable sisters, Jo and Jess Edun, who are bringing the sweet taste of Nigeria to the UK food scene. Inspired by their Grandma's joyful cooking, they are keeping her legacy alive in their restaurant and pop-up residencies. Local heroes themselves, these Peckham-based siblings are striving to make a positive impact through food and the social connections it can create. They believe great food should bring speak to your soul and warm the heart. Visit and as well as Supermalt wings, smokey jollof, pounded yam and rum punch, customers can expect good vibes, care of the Afrobeats soundtrack, and hang out with diners who insist it is the best Nigerian food outside of the homeland.  This, their first book delivers recipes for home-cooked dishes for anyone who loves to eat and wants to experience the uniquely delicious tastes and textures that West African food brings to the table.

Leseprobe

THE FLYGERIANS

COOKBOOK

THE FLYGERIANS

COOKBOOK

OVER 70 RECIPES FOR

NIGERIAN FOOD THAT WILL

SPEAK TO YOUR SOUL &

WARM YOUR HEART

JESS & JO EDUN

PHOTOGRAPY BY CLARE WINFIELD

Dedicated to our incredible Grandma ‘Mama’ – Mary Uhunamure Obahiagbon – who passed 22nd February 2011. Without her there would be no Flygerians. We want to honour her beautiful life and the love she showered us with.

To our mother Gloria Shomope-Edun and father Godspower Edun.

Senior Designer Megan Smith

Senior Editor Abi Waters

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Creative Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Indexer Vanessa Bird

Food stylist Kathy Kordalis

Props stylist Max Robinson

First published in 2024 by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields, London

WC1R 4BW

and

341 E 116th St, New York NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text copyright © Jess Edun and Jo Edun 2024

Design and commisioned

photography copyright © Ryland

Peters & Small 2024

ISBN: 978-1-78879-622-4

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-660-6

Printed in China

The authors’ moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

NOTES

• Both British (metric) and American (imperial plus US cups) measurements are included in these recipes for your convenience, however, it is important to work with one set of measurements and not alternate between the two within a recipe.

• All spoon measurements are level unless otherwise specified.

• All eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless specified as large, in which case US extra-large should be used. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very old, frail, young children, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperatures.

We recommend using an oven thermometer. If using a fan-assisted oven, adjust temperatures according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

• When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before using.

If you can only find treated fruit, scrub well in warm soapy water before using.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

NIGERIAN FOOD CULTURE

THE NIGERIAN KITCHEN

BASIC RECIPES

1 SMALL CHOPS

2 BIG CHOPS

3 SWALLOW & SIDES

4 STREET FOOD

5 SWEET THINGS

6 DRINKS

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHOP LIFE BEFORE LIFE CHOPS YOU!

No wo(man) is an island. To know where you’re going, you need to know where you have been. Our story is not only our own, but the beautiful journey of all the women before us who have paved the way for us to become the dual-nationality, Nigerian display of excellence, joy and warmth we are today.

We dedicate this book to our grandma Mary and our mother Gloria Shomope-Edun and father Godspower Edun who all taught us not only to demand a seat at the table, but to create our own.

Our journey is intertwined with those of our siblings, who taught us to love unapologetically, to be our true authentic selves, to be the light in times of darkness and to fight for what we believe in. What we believe in is spreading joy and creating a community that serves those who we have the pleasure of being around and cooking for. We did not get here alone and have the brilliant minds within our team to thank, who share our vision of sharing the love for our culture through our love of cooking, and bringing an energetic, unforgettable vibe that we stand before you to share today.

We are The Flygerians, two larger than life sisters, best friends and Nigerian restaurant owners. The Flygerians is more than just our name. It’s a term used to describe a cool, ambitious, driven, forward-thinking Nigerian and it captivates our passion to be the best, shatter boundaries and put no limitation on the level we can reach. Expect authentic recipes passed down through generations and new street food creations with a Flygerian twist.

We are bringing the sweet taste of Nigeria to not just the UK but the world. Our beautiful, tastebud-tantalizing Nigerian culture is too rich and vibrant not to share. Within the pages of this book, be prepared to be transported to Nigeria without ever needing to board a plane. We learned to cook from the ages of nine and ten in our grandma’s kitchen in Hackney, East London. She would host community cookouts and invite every Tom, Dami and Harry from the block and sometimes even the random woman walking past with her dog who happened to smell the sweet scent of puff puff in the air!

We are two of eight siblings and as children our parents would leave all of us with our grandma (Mama) over the summer holidays, along with six cousins. Days and weeks would pass, as we spent our days cooking, laughing and snuggled under blankets in the living room swapping stories with our cousins way past our bed time. We remember waking up at 4 o’clock in the morning (while our cousins still slept) climbing out of bed and running to bathe, to ensure our Mama would take us with her to meet the early morning traders in Dalston market to get the best produce. Even with sleep still in our eyes, we could think of nothing better than helping our Mama carry the ingredients home ready to cook one of her sensational soul-enriching meals. Little did we know at the time, that those days and weeks spent with our Mama and cousins, those moments we treasured forever, would shape not only our lives but eventually our careers as chefs. We would spend hours in the kitchen with our Mama back then, turning the bowl and washing the dishes, all the while learning her recipes inside out and how to cook and season them to perfection until we heard our ancestors whisper, ‘That’s enough my child…’. We would dance round the kitchen with Mama to Fela Kuti and listen to her stories of her own childhood, while she handed us small tasters of the hot akara she had just made, asking for our expert opinions on how it tasted.

Our Mama meant the world to us, and our incredible mother and father made sure we practised the dishes we had learned each summer at home with our siblings and at Christmas when all the family came over to our home. Most importantly our grandma also taught us that good food should hold no boundaries and should be enjoyed by all. Social inclusion was what our Mama lived by, and this was passed onto our mother and onto us. We believe no matter your race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, you should be invited into a space where you can feel safe to be yourself and enjoy yourself, a space where you can leave your troubles at the door and feel welcome. We live by this ethos and social inclusion is one of the fundamental values echoed throughout our business.

We both come from very education-driven backgrounds; Jess has a law degree and Jo is a fully qualified occupational therapist. As much as we both smashed our chosen professions, we always knew we also wanted to make a real difference in another way and make our own mark in this world. When our beloved Mama Mary passed in 2011 we vowed that her legacy would live on within us and that her food, and our own spin-off recipes that she inspired, would open doors we could only have dared dream of. Our first-ever Flygerians restaurant opened in Peckham (dubbed the mini-Lagos of the UK) and this book embodies all that is wonderful about both our business and our South London home. Through running the restaurant and now writing this book we plan to make The Flygerians a household name globally, but all the while making sure that this book truly represents the community that we grew up in.

We invite you to enjoy the beautiful pages that follow and take inspiration from them, whether you are hosting dinners for family, friends and loved ones or simply making a meal for one to warm your soul. We want to make you feel like you belong, whether you are missing home or want to feel a part of our ever-growing Flygerians community. And remember, no one gets left behind, in our restaurant and in our book, so we have included something for everyone here. Meat-eaters, you know the vibe – we got you! Vegan? Oya come and chop! Pescatarian? We beg you, pull up a chair immediately!

We hope that our recipes and stories will bring you comfort and joy and help you to celebrate being a part of our epic Nigerian culture, as we always have and always will.

NIGERIAN FOOD CULTURE

Despite there being hundreds of tribes and different religions within Nigeria, there is one thing that is distinctive across the country – our big, bold, charismatic and gassed-up personalities. You will know you have encountered a Nigerian without them even mentioning where they are from. This is what our slogan is based upon, ‘Chop life before life chops you’, which means you must enjoy life before it’s too late. No matter what you are doing in life, make sure you have fun and enjoy yourself. We chop life through cooking food that brings everyone together.

There is no exact number within the country, but some have counted around 500 different tribes. The top four most common and widely known ones are:

EDO (BENIN’S) This is the tribe that our grandmother is from. It is located in the southern region of the country. Our recipes and cooking methods are derived mainly from the Edo style of cooking, mixed with a little British cooking style too. Ogbono soup is a popular dish eaten by the Edo people. Ogbono seeds originate from African wild mango, also known as ‘bush mango’. These seeds are then dried and blended to give the soup a ‘draw effect’ (that delicious pull you get when you scoop up the stew).

YORUBA Our grandfather was from the Yoruba tribe, and our parents spent a lot of their youth at school and living in Lagos. Ayamase is a popular Yoruban stew, also known as ‘designer stew’ as it is usually cooked on special occasions with rich ingredients. This is one for the heat lovers – stay clear if you suffer from heartburn or gastric reflux as you might be in for a rough night, haha! Ayamase is heavily oil based and made from a lot of green scotch bonnets and green bell peppers. For what it lacks in appearance it makes up for in taste. This recipe traditionally uses quite a complex method but we have tweaked it to use ofada oil, which is bleached (burnt) palm oil, giving the ayamase its dark colour and smoky flavour.

HAUSA-FULANI This tribe is located in the north of the country and is the biggest Muslim tribe in Nigeria. The tribe is most famously known as the creators of suya spice and the finest grilled meat.

IGBO (also spelled Ibo) This tribe is also located in southern Nigeria and best known as the major farmers of cassava and yam. We love to eat goat meat pepper soup with boiled yam, which is a popular dish among the Igbo tribe.

CHOP & GO

Certainly! Nigerian cuisine offers a diverse array of snacks and meals, ranging from savoury to sweet, which often reflects the country’s rich culinary heritage. Here’s a list of some popular Nigerian food for you to discover and enjoy:

CHIN CHIN Nigeria’s answer to a biscuit/cookie (see page 128). It’s a crunchy, deep-fried snack made from a dough of flour, sugar, butter, milk and sometimes eggs. It can be flavoured with spices like nutmeg, coconut, Biscoff and/or vanilla and is often cut into small rectangles or diamond shapes before frying.

PUFF PUFF A sweet and fluffy fried dough ball, similar to a doughnut/donut, made from a simple batter of flour, sugar, yeast and water. It can be flavoured with any topping you like. Once you have mastered the basic recipe (see page 127) it can be flavoured with Oreos, cinnamon and stuffed with jam or chocolate.

SUYA One of the most famous and popular Nigerian street-food snacks (see page 36). When in Nigeria you must try the ‘University of Suya’ restaurant located in Lagos. We applaud them as their suya is sensational. Suya is the peanut-based spice that accompanies the grilled meat, which are then presented on skewers or wrapped in newspaper.

AKARA A deep-fried bean cake made from blended black-eyed peas mixed with onions, peppers and spices, shaped into balls or patties and deep-fried until golden brown (see page 29).

MEAT PIE Nigerian meat pies are savoury pastries filled with a mixture of seasoned minced/ground meat (often beef or chicken), onions and vegetables such as carrots and peas (see page 108). The filling is encased in a flaky pastry dough and baked until golden brown. The filling can be swapped for vegetarian/vegan filling if preferred.

PLANTAIN CHIPS Thinly sliced plantains that are deep-fried until crispy. They can be seasoned with salt, pepper or spices for extra flavour and are enjoyed like a packet of crisps/chips (see page 103).

CHAPMAN A welcome drink made from Nigerian fanta and sprite, then spiced up with fresh fruit and aromatic bitters (see page 146). It is typically served as a mocktail but we enjoy it with a double shot of naughty Uncle Wray rum, Hennessy or vodka.

ZOBO A thicker and richer welcome drink made from hibiscus flower (see page 154). Caribbeans also refer to this drink as sorrel.

SOUPS & STEWS Soups and stews are central to Nigerian cuisine. They are usually thick and hearty, often served with a staple such as rice, pounded yam, fufu (a starchy dough made from cassava, yams, or plantains), or eba (garri, a fermented cassava product). Popular soups and stews include Egusi Soup (see page 59), Ogbono Soup (see page 60) and Banga Soup (see page 63). Popular stews are Ayamase (see page 70), Oxtail Stew (see page 68) and Efo Riro (see page 71).

NIGERIAN COOKING METHODS

There are some common cooking methods and ingredients used in Nigerian cooking.

GRILLING & ROASTING These are common cooking methods for meats and fish. Grilled or roasted meats are often seasoned with a variety of spices and served with side dishes or eaten as snacks. Suya is a popular dish that is usually grilled.

FRYING Another popular cooking method in Nigerian cuisine. Fried foods include items like plantains (dodo), bean cakes (akara) and Puff Puff (deep-fried dough balls).

AIR-FRYING This cooking method is rapidly taking over the cooking industry, with everyone looking for different ways to eat cleaner and healthier. If you’re feeling bold and daring, try this method for making meat pies, suya, fried fish and our Lekki Express Shawarma (see page 99).

STEAMING & BOILING Steaming and boiling are used to cook a variety of dishes, including rice, moi moi, beans, eggs, vegetables and certain types of soups and stews.

TRADITIONAL COOKING TECHNIQUES Traditional cooking techniques such as pounding, grinding, and fermenting are also used in Nigerian cuisine to prepare certain dishes and ingredients.

BAKING This is not a common method used in Nigeria but it is a growing cooking technique as people are looking for healthier methods of cooking dishes rather than frying.

Overall, Nigerian cooking involves a combination of all these methods and ingredients (see pages 15–17), resulting in flavourful and diverse dishes that reflect the country’s rich culinary heritage. We have added a few boujee cooking techniques along the way – we are soft-life babes that don’t always want to break our nails or arms endlessly pounding ingredients. Check out our pounded yam recipe (see page 88), which we make in a food processor rather than the traditional way.

ENTERTAINING THE NIGERIAN WAY

There are a few funny cultural mannerisms that you should know about before hosting a fellow Nigerian.

If you invite us to your house, we expect to be fed.Serve food with your right hand and not your left hand (your left hand is perceived as your dirty hand), although this is more for the elders.When serving food, ensure you also serve a drink.When serving swallow food (see pages 88–92), provide a bowl of warm water and lemon before and after a meal to allow guests to wash their hands.Always cook more than you think you need – you can never have too much food, and we like to leave with leftovers.Nigerian culture is about bringing people together, so if you are celebrating an event, expect extra guests – we love to celebrate life together.When hosting an event, don’t expect your guests to arrive on time – if the party starts at 6pm, your Nigerian guests will arrive at 8pm if you’re lucky.Leave salt and pepper on the table, and some chilli/chili oil, because everyone’s taste and desired heat level is different.

Nigerian hospitality is all about abundance and respect. Anyone that enters our home is treated with generosity and warmth.

Our guests are family and whatever we do, no matter how big or small, we love to share, as we love life and the people who chose to embrace in our culture.

THE NIGERIAN KITCHEN

One thing about Nigerians is that we are always going to have food in abundance in our houses, and we will be ready for our guests when you pop by to say hello. There will always be a big batch of stew or jollof in the fridge in Tupperware that used to hold a family sized amount of ice cream. And if there isn’t anything left from our big batch cooking, then we will whip something up.

FRESH INGREDIENTS