Liberian Appetizers

There are many meals which can be served as appetizers, but there isn’t a specific category that defines them all. The wide range of plants (with edible roots), exotic fruits and meat, cereals and meat mixtures offer numerous combinations. The fufu or foo-foo is a traditional dish that has the consistency of mashed potatoes or polenta and it served with stews, like egusi or different soups. The recipe includes root vegetables, like yams, cocoyam and cassava, but fufu can also be prepared out of grains and plantains. Plantains are also consumed as an appetizer, when they are prepared fried, as chips (very green plantains, sliced very thin and fried in vegetable oil). Other vegetables that represent the West African cuisine are made of rice, peanuts (like the Bambara groundnut and the housa groundnut), root vegetables (yams, cocoyam, sweet potatoes and cassava), but also fruits, like citrus ones, mangos and pineapples.