Sierra Leone
Cassava leaf stews, groundnut soups and smoky jollof over rice.
Iconic recipes
Plasas (Cassava Leaf Stew)
Sierra Leone's national dish — pounded cassava leaves slow-cooked in red palm oil with smoked fish, dried shrimp, groundnut paste and ogiri for that signature dark, velvety, deeply savoury stew over rice.
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Potato Leaf Plasa (Petehteh Leaf Stew)
Finely chopped sweet potato (petehteh) leaves stewed down with palm oil, peanut paste, smoked fish, ogiri and a touch of okra — a Salone household favourite, lighter and grassier than its cassava-leaf cousin.
Granat Sup (Sierra Leonean Groundnut Soup)
Salone's classic 'granat sup' — beef (or chicken) simmered in palm oil with onion, a little tomato and groundnut paste until the peanuts cook out fragrant, glossy and the oil floats on top. Served over white rice.
Okroh Soup (Sierra Leonean Okra Soup)
Salone okroh sup — fresh okra grated to a glossy, ropey draw, simmered in red palm oil with beef, smoked fish, dried shrimp and scotch bonnet until rich, slippery and deeply savoury. Eaten with rice or foofoo.
Tola Soup (Beniseed / Sesame Soup)
A Salone delicacy from the east — roasted beniseed (sesame seeds) ground to a paste and simmered with beef, smoked fish, palm oil and scotch bonnet into a nutty, glossy soup. Especially loved in Kono and Kailahun.
Bittas Soup (Bitter Leaf Soup)
Salone bittas sup — washed bitter leaves slow-cooked in red palm oil with beef or cowfoot, smoked fish, dried shrimp and ogiri. The leaves are repeatedly squeezed to tame the bitterness into a clean, herbal edge.
Sierra Leonean Smoky Jollof Rice
Salone-style jollof: parboiled rice cooked in a deeply spiced pepper base until the bottom catches just enough to perfume every grain with smoke.
Sierra Leonean Groundnut Stew
Krio-style peanut stew with chicken, sweet potato and scotch bonnet.
Sierra Leonean Okra Soup
Palm-oil okra soup with smoked fish and beef, served with foofoo.