Benin’s residents shop local food markets several times each week to stock up on fresh vegetables and exotic fruits. Their low-fat, high-nutrition meals are exactly what the doctor ordered for the rest of us.

- By John Jacobs

It is refreshing to read that residents of the Republic of Benin savor healthy foods as their diet staples. In a world filled with fat-heavy, nutrition-poor diets that are leading to skyrocketing rates of cardiovascular disease and obesity, it is time to turn toward simpler lifestyles where the food eaten is a recipe for good health.

Westerners tend to minimize simple diets, yet they are exactly what most doctors order. Simple does not equate to bland, but too many make that assumption. Benin is a West African kingdom filled with fresh food markets overflowing with green beans, yams, oranges and a host of other foods required for good health.

The Republic of Benin is on the Gulf of Guinea and surrounded by Togo, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The country is working to develop its economy, but it could already teach advanced lessons on good health through food choices.

The Republic of Benin is food self-sufficient, remarkable in a world where few countries can make that claim. As a largely agriculture-based economy, the main food exports are peanuts, cashew nuts, cocoa, palm oil and coffee. However, there is a bounty of fresh and healthy foods grown in local gardens and farms and sold at markets.

Beninese cooks visit the outdoor food markets several times a week to select from a colorful array of green beans, okra, tomatoes, onions, peppers, corn, yams, mandarin oranges, pineapples, bananas, apples, lemons, bananas and much more. Seafood and lamb are two of the most popular main dishes, but many meals are made up of only vegetables, fruits, and perhaps couscous or some other type of starch.

Sauces, Sauces andEven More Sauces

Stews and sauces define many Beninese recipes. A stew made of shellfish, onion and tomatoes is livened up with pilipili, a type of hot sauce. Stews are often thickened with okra, a healthy alternative to white flour or cornstarch.

Yams are featured in dishes like obgono soup and pounded yam or owo and yam. Owo soup is made with smoked fish, fresh tomatoes, ground chilies, ground crayfish, locust beans and water. It is usually served with boiled yams or maybe plantains.

Sauces are a hallmark of the Beninese meals. They can contain anything the cook chooses to add, including vitamin-loaded eggplant, pumpkin seeds, peppers, tomatoes and so on. The sauces are poured over main dishes, vegetables, rice, and a variety of porridge or mush recipes made from grains and grasses. Sauces also become soup bases or stew thickeners.

Tomato-based and peanut-based sauces are common. However, they are certainly not the only types of sauces created by talented Beninese cooks. Who would want to resist Poulet à la Sauce Blanche (chicken with white or cream sauce) or Sauce Poisson etSoupe de Gombo (fish sauce and okra soup)? Beninese Callaloo is a traditional classic Beninese stew that is made with goat meat, okra, and cassava greens that are cooked in a chili and onion base. Dried prawns ground to a powder are used to thicken the stew. Akassa is a south Beninese food that is made from cornmeal wrapped in local leaves.

The array of sauces turns even the simplest dishes into epicurean delights. For example, Ago Glain is a traditional recipe consisting of crab cooked in an onion and tomato sauce. The dish is thickened with a type of peanut butter. Chilies add the final dash of flavor. Another common sauce is lamounoudessi, which is made with smoked shrimp, fish and a variety of vegetables. Sauces are often used to add flavor to porridge-type of food staples. The Beninese Peanut Sauce is made with peanut butter, chilies, tomatoes and onions and easily livens up any starch-based food.

Looking at a few of the traditional recipes is the best way to understand how simple foods are kept healthy while turned into exotic dishes. The traditional recipes are rich in ingredients like beans, cassava, yams, corn, millet and rice.

Turning Simple FOOD into Exotic FOOD

In terms of food, Benin can be divided into north and south, but the entire country has been influenced by the presence of European traders during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The south is more urbanized than the north and has a large Afro-Brazilian community consisting of the descendants of European traders. French is the official language which is surprising until learning that the French have been trading in Benin since before 1840, and Benin was under French colonial rule from 1904 to 1958 within the federation of French West Africa. The country gained independence in 1960, but the heavy French influence is seen in the sauces and the French cuisine served in local restaurants.

The invisible division between north and south diets primarily reflects the climate’s influence on agriculture and the country’s geography. Most fishing is done in the south because there is a small coastal strip of land on the Gulf of Guinea. Meals are more likely to include fresh, dried or smoked fish.

In the north, beef and lamb are more common than fish. Though poultry and meats like goat, beef and lamb are used in recipes throughout the country, they are not eaten at every meal. In some cases it is a matter of economics and availability, but in many instances it is a matter of choice. Meat is considered a ceremonial food and mutton is often eaten on the Muslim feast day of Tobaski, at weddings and on other holidays.

Anyone invited to enjoy a Beninese meal in Benin should remember that the right hand is used while eating. Locals consider the right hand to be the clean hand and would be insulted if anyone ate with the unclean left hand.

Most people probably first taste Beninese food in a local restaurant serving West African foods. This type of food is an excellent choice if good nutrition and enjoying innovative flavors, created through expert use of vegetables and fruits, are desired.

The Beninese have taken nutrition and dining to a new level of enjoyment, and that is so appropriate for a country that clearly appreciates earth’s bounty.

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