African•healthy

Garden Egg Sauce

Garden egg sauce is an easy sauce made with garden eggs (of the same family as egg plants). It is a great side to boiled plantains, yams or potatoes.

Ingredients

Quantities are shown as originally provided.

20 garden eggs
5 large tomatoes - chopped
1/4 cup ground crayfish
1/2 cup dried anchovies (substitute with other dried fish of choice)
1 cup dried shrimp (substitute with other dried fish of choice)
1 large Maggi Crevette (crayfish seasoning cube) (substitute with bouillon powder)
1 habanero (hot) pepper - optional
1 small onion - chopped
3/4 cup oil (I mixed red palm oil (1/4 cup) and soybean oil (1/2 cup). You could use just red palm oil or just vegetable oil
Salt to taste

1
Wash garden eggs thoroughly and place in a pot. Add water to the same level as the garden eggs. Boil until they are soft and squishy.
2
Drain the garden eggs from the boiling water then rinse with cold water to help cool down quickly.
3
Once they are cold, peel each garden egg to remove the outer skin. Place in a bowl and mash lightly with a wooden spoon or place on a chopping board and cut into about 1-inch bits. (Cut them bigger if you prefer a chunkier sauce).
4
Place oil in a pot to heat up on high heat. Add onions and saute for two minutes.
5
Add tomatoes and cook until acidity is all done, stirring from time to time. (About 10 minutes)
6
Add in crayfish and stir. Let it sizzle with the tomatoes for about 2 minutes.
7
Add in the pepper (if using) anchovies and dried shrimp (remember you could substitute these with any dried/smoked fish of choice). Let them cook for about 3 minutes in the tomato sauce.
8
Note: If you notice your sauce is too dry at this point, add in a little water to loosen it up.
9
Add in Maggi crayfish seasoning cube and salt to taste and stir well. Finally add in the mashed/chopped garden eggs. Stir well to incorporate. Let them sizzle together for about 4 minutes then turn off the heat.
10
Enjoy warm with boiled plantains, boiled African yam, or boiled potatoes.