Baked tilapia with attieke and onion and tomato salad: this juicy tasty tilapia is made using green pepper sauce AKA kpakpshito sauce. This is served with attieke and onion and tomato salad, welcome to food from the South Western part of Ghana.
Let me introduce you to attieke or akyeke, a coarse meal made from cassava common to the Nzema people of South Western Ghana and Ivorians.
Attieke is a staple meal in Nzema, eaten for breakfast, lunch, supper or whenever you want something to eat. A friend of mine visited one of the Nzema villages for over a week and she reports, “I have eaten enough attieke to last me, my whole life”.
This shows how much my people eat and love their food. Just like how Nigerians and Ghanaians argue over who makes the best jollof, Ivorians and Nzema refuse to agree on who invented and makes the best attieke. Left to me, the best attieke should be fluffy, it should neither be sour nor dry. Though some will disagree on the sour part.
You can get already made attieke from the supermarket either packed in box or freezer packed. I learnt the box ones can be dry, have not had one like that so can’t tell.
If you haven’t tried green pepper sauce sauce, you need to make one and try it. At least for the sake of this baked tilapia. Marinating the tilapia in the green sauce puts the baked tilapia over the top. Nothing like any tilapia you ate out.
While marinating the tilapia, prepare the onion and tomato salad. Most attieke with fish sold here is served with a combination of thinly sliced onions and sometimes tomatoes with freshly grated or coarsely grounded kpakpshito or scotch bonnet with a drizzle of oil. If you want it like its typically done here, you can one or two scotch bonnet pepper. We make ours with just onions, tomatoes and oil from the green pepper sauce. It adds so much flavour, you shouldn’t miss this.
When all is done, assemble everything, set your table, ignore the fork in the picture no need for cutlery, you will understand when you start eating.
A taste of South western Ghana and Ivory Coast:
Baked tilapia with attieke and onion and tomato salad 😊
This baked tilapia is made using the Ghana's green pepper. Served along side attieke and onions and tomatoes salad
- 1 1/2 pounds or 2 medium tilapia (gutted and descaled)
- 1/2 cup/ 120 ml green pepper sauce
- 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon
- sea salt to taste
- oil for baking tray
- Attieke as needed
- salt to taste
- 1 large onion
- 3 - 4 tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon oil from green pepper sauce/ any good vegetable oil
- salt as required
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Wash tilapia and pat dry. Make small paths around the fish to enable the fish absorb the marinade quickly. Place in a large mixing bowl, add freshly squeezed lemon juice and sea salt to taste.
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Pour about 1/2 cup of green pepper sauce onto the fish, making sure the fish is well drenched in the sauce. Cover and set in the fish to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
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Mean while, prepare the onion and tomato salad by slicing onions and tomatoes together. Add salt to taste and 1 tablespoon of oil from the green pepper sauce or any good vegetable oil of choice. Toss together and place in the fridge to rest and absorb the flavour from the oil.
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When marinating time is up, pre-heat the oven to 200°C/ 390°F. Lightly brush a baking tray/ sheet with oil. Carefully place marinated tilapia onto the baking tray, pouring any remaining marinade on top.
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Baked in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes, turn the tilapia and bake on the other side as well for ten minutes.
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To warm attieke: place a colander in a saucepan filled with water. Make sure the colander does not touch the water. Place on high heat to get the water to boil. Place attieke in the colander, adding salt as needed. Cover and let the steam from the boiling water heat the attieke. If using a microwave; place attieke and salt as needed into a microwave safe bowl. Lightly drizzle with water as attieke tends to dry out from the microwave. Heat on high to warm through, stir.
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Serve baked tilapia with warmed attieke, onion and tomato salad and green pepper sauce.
Recipe for green pepper sauce
