Cooks the books
MELIS SA THOMPSON
Our columnist Melissa Thompson recreates Sierra Leonean cassava leaf sauce from Maria Bradford’s debut cookbook
recipe MARIA BRADFORD
Sierra Leonean food is new to me. Through different dishes, I’ve made my way round other West A frican countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Senega l, Gambia. But, it’s only through Sweet Salone, the debut cookbook from chef and w riter Ma ria Bradford, that I fina lly ma ke my way to Sierra Leone.
In the cookbook, we learn about Maria’s persona l histor y and that of her birth countr y – of pa lm oil, cassava and ogirie, the fermented, smoked sesa me seeds that form the basis of much of the cuisine.
Ma ria was born in Freetow n and came to the UK in her late teens. She was an accountant before going on a culinar y course and setting up her catering business, Shwen Shwen – derived from Krio, mea ning ‘fancy ’.