KITCHEN PRACTICAL SERIES

AfricanAll The Goodness of Africa

CUISINE The Best of Africa’s Food & Drink in the Diaspora

an adventure with

Guinea Fowl

Kitchen PracticalsLET’S COOK THE FOOD

Guinea Fowl...as bought in Sainsbury’s, pre-pared in an African kitchen and served! It was a pleasant surprise to find the African bird, Guinea fowl on display in the poultry section at the local Sains-bury’s superstore. Memories of the escapades with the bird many years ago as a child rushed into mind.Quick and flighty, the guinea fowl used to be brought down south from Northern Nigeria and so had an exotic progeny in comparison to duck and chicken which were relatively commoner.

Cooking it!The first thing to do once you get it out home is to discard the wrapping. If you had read it, you would have been told to take a brush and smear the bird with oil and roast in the oven for 65 minutes. Hey? What? Not quite. Don’t do that. Here’s what we did... Approximate Prep time is 15 minutes.

1. Set the oven at 200 C. Set for 80 minutes.2. Wash the bird [They didn’t say that!] and place it on a flat plate or platter.2. Stuff it with your preferences - in our case, garlic cloves, chillies...3. Use a small knife to prick the skin in places and open small holes. Place the stuffing into them. 4. When you are satisfied with

this, place the bird on a baking tray and cover in foil paper. Place in the oven [approximately 15 minutes Preparation time] and cook for 65 minutes. [Ok - 75 minutes for the African kitchen!]5. After 30 minutes, check and brush with olive oil. Cover again and cook till alarm says 80 minutes are up.6. Remove and share! [It’s not a big bird so don’t tell the neighbours].

an adventure with Guinea Fowl