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When he first immigrated to the U.S. from the Ivory Coast 19 years ago, Morou Outtara used a delicate hand when working the flavors of his homeland into the menus of the restaurants where he cooked.
Americans, he suspected, weren't quite ready for the bold West African flavors such as aromatic alligator peppers or creamy palm nut sauces that were common in his mother's home.
But as he saw diners grow more comfortable with assertive Asian and Indian seasonings, Outtara decided it was time to let African flavors play a more dominant role in his menus rather than merely accent them.
So 18 months ago, he opened his upscale Farrah Olivia restaurant in Alexandria, Va., where comfortable dishes such as rib eyes are rubbed with ground coffee and pungent, spicy West Africa peppercorns called grains of paradise, and where beignets are stuffed with a mash of black-eyed peas.
"We explored the Asian rim thing, and Indian has been here forever," he says of the evolving American palate. "For six, seven years now, people are playing with the idea of African food, and people are now starting to accept it."
Once limited mostly to immigrant enclaves, the robust flavors of African cuisines have recently begun following the trajectories of Italian, Latin, Asian and Middle Eastern foods -- themselves once foreign flavors here.
"It's one of the last frontiers," says Kemp Minifie, executive food editor at Gourmet magazine. "As there is more awareness and more learning about Africa, and that it isn't just one cuisine, there will be more restaurants doing it."
Americans' relentless appetite for newer, bolder flavors paired with foreign travel and awareness of global issues (even if only via high-profile celebrity adoptions), have made for easy passage of African flavors into new markets.
Until recently, for example, the editors at Food & Wine magazine felt it necessary to suggest substitutes whenever a recipe called for harissa, a spicy sauce from Tunisia. Today, it is common enough to stand on its own.
"With the Madonnas and Angelina Jolies of the world, people who did not know where Namibia is do now," says Tina Ujlaki, executive food editor at Food & Wine.
The cuisines of several African nations in particular seem to be benefiting. According to a recent survey by consumer research firm Packaged Facts, Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian and Egyptian foods are especially poised to gain wider appeal.
In some parts of the country -- Washington, Minneapolis, New York and Chicago -- the trend is helped by large immigrant communities of Ethiopians and Somalians, says food consultant Elaine Tecklenburg, who authored the report.
There has also been an influx of African refugees, many of them settling in rural areas and creating a demand for foods from home. Census figures show more than a million African-born refugees and immigrants were living in the U.S. in 2002, more than double the number from a decade earlier.
It also helps that Americans are finding the flavor profile of many African cuisines -- hot, spicy and sweet -- approachable, in part because it's a trio found in other already popular cuisines, such as Hispanic.
And though they may not be conscious of it, many people are already familiar with tastes found in African cuisines.
Many foods and flavors of the American South can be traced to Africa via slaves, says food historian Jessica B. Harris, who has studied African influences on American cuisine.
"If you have had collard greens, you can understand callaloo," a leafy green vegetable of West Africa, she says.
It also helps that many of the seasonings found in African cuisines have roots elsewhere. Indian and Malaysian spices are prevalent in southern Africa, while northern countries have more Middle Eastern influences.
Flavors and foods left in Africa from European settlers, including the French, Portuguese and Italians, also help make African cuisines more accessible. And even many American foods have African roots.
And so while not yet household names here, spice blends such as harissa and Ethiopia's garlicky berbere and Morocco's complex ras el hanout (recently featured on Bravo's "Top Chef") are showing up on a growing bevy of menus, spice and gourmet catalogs and cookbooks. Massachusetts-based restaurant chain Not Your Average Joe's even boasted in a recent press release about its addition of a Moroccan salmon to its menu.
"Morocco and Tunisia seem very familiar now," Ujlaki says. "I am sure there will be a packaged dukka in the supermarkets in the next couple of years. I think some of the spice companies are now hip to it."
Ethiopian-born celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson can take credit for some of that. His most recent book, the James Beard Foundation award-winning "The Soul of a New Cuisine," is a culinary tour of African flavors.
That success prompted him to launch Afrikya, a brand of African spices targeted to chefs and adventurous home cooks.
But he's hardly alone. Nirmala Narine of Nirmala's Kitchen, an exotic gourmet importer in New York, sells a line of five African spices at natural foods stores nationwide, and Vann's Spices in Baltimore has introduced a similar line.
Meanwhile, spice giant McCormick & Co. recently called the common North African and Middle Eastern spice combination of poppy seeds and rose one of the top 10 flavor pairings for 2008.
"It's been gradually happening," says Samuelsson, who in February opened a pan-African restaurant in New York called Merkato (named after the large open-air market in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa).
"North African and Arab spices are the best known to American cooks, but you are now seeing those spices like harissa, za'atar and dukka (an Egyptian blend of seeds and spices) showing up on menus," he says.
At Farrah Olivia, Outtara tries to ease Americans into the continent.
"The way to transform an African dish into an American dish is to simply deconstruct the dish and put it back together for the American palate," he says.
His most popular dish, for example, is lamb chops with a palm nut barbecue sauce. The chops are brined in a mixture of African spices before being seared, while the creamy pulp from the mini-coconut-sized nuts is spiked with smoky bacon and sweet ketchup.
And it's not just African-born chefs who are showcasing the continent's flavors. After a trip to Egypt last year, chefs Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier of MC Perkins Cove and Arrows restaurants in Ogunquit, Maine, began working African flavors into their menus, including a tamer version of harissa sauce as one of several options for dipping chicken, lamb or beef. They have also dedicated a special menu in June to the trip.
In New Orleans, chef John Besh has been using alligator peppers to spice up gumbo at his restaurant Luke. And at his Restaurant August, the peppers are pureed and reduced to kick up a duck jus that coats the breast.
"Most of the spices we use were brought over from Africa or Asia," Besh says, "and I think the movement is, the continent of Africa is, finally getting its due."
SHRIMP PIRI PIRI
"Piri piri" is the Portuguese name for the tiny red five-alarm chilies (also known as bird's-eye chilies), which grow wild throughout much of Africa. Throughout the continent, they are used to add serious punch to sauces.
In this dish, New York chef Marcus Samuelsson purees them for a simple marinade and dipping sauce for shrimp.
Start to finish: 45 minutes (25 minutes active)
Servings: Four starters
8 red bird's-eye chilies, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
12 raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 limes, quartered
12 large lettuce leaves (such as bibb or romaine)
To make the piri piri sauce, in a blender, combine the chilies, lemon juice, cilantro, parsley and garlic. Puree until smooth. With the blender running, slowly pour in 1/2 cup olive oil, and blend until well combined.
In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with half of the piri piri sauce. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium. Add the shrimp, and cook for two minutes per side, or until opaque throughout.
Transfer the shrimp to a plate, and sprinkle with the salt. Squeeze the lime quarters over the shrimp.
Spread 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining piri piri sauce over each lettuce leaf. Place a shrimp on each leaf, and roll up to form a wrap. Serve immediately.
(Recipe from Marcus Samuelsson's "The Soul of a New Cuisine," Wiley, 2006)
MASHED EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND GARLIC SALAD
This simple blend of steamed eggplant and simmered tomatoes from Morocco is great warmed or chilled. The flavors become more intense as it is allowed to stand an hour before serving. Serve it as a dip with flatbread or over rice and chicken.
Start to finish: One hour, 30 minutes (45 minutes active)
Servings: Four
2 large eggplants
Sea salt
3 large tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Leaves from 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
Squeeze lemon juice
Extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Trim the ends off each eggplant. One at a time, stand each eggplant on end, and use a vegetable peeler to remove lengthwise strips of skin, skipping every other strip (creating vertical stripes).
Chop the eggplants into chunks, then transfer to a colander, and sprinkle generously with salt. Set the colander over a bowl or sink, and let drain 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant of excess salt, then pat dry with paper towels.
Fill a medium saucepan fitted with a steamer basket with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil. Place the eggplant in the steamer basket, cover, and steam for 15 minutes.
Transfer the eggplant back to the colander. Use the back of a large spoon to break up the chunks, creating a semi-mash and draining any excess liquid. Set aside.
Cut each tomato in half. Set a box grater over a large, deep skillet. Grated the tomato halves into the pan, discarding the skins. Add the garlic, half the cilantro, cumin, pepper and paprika. Heat over low, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
Stir the eggplant into the sauce, and sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Just before serving, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.
(Recipe adapted from Fiona Dunlop's "The North African Kitchen," Interlink Books, 2008)
BOBOTIE
Consider bobotie (pronounced boh-BOH-tee) a sort of South African meatloaf, albeit a heavily seasoned one thanks to the many Southeast Asian spices that long ago made their way to this country.
Some versions of bobotie mix mashed potatoes into the recipe itself. This one uses the more traditional slices of bread soaked in milk, but consider serving it with roasted or mashed potatoes on the side.
Bobotie usually is served with saffron rice.
Start to finish: One hour, 45 minutes (30 minutes active)
Servings: Six
3/4 cup milk, divided
2 slices white bread
1 teaspoon ghee or butter
1 large yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chili, seeds and ribs discarded, then diced
1 apple, peeled and diced
1-1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup slivered almonds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 lemons
2 eggs
6 bay leaves
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Place the slices of bread in a shallow bowl, then drizzle them with 1/4 cup milk. Set aside.
In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, melt the ghee. Add the onion, garlic and chili, then sauté until the onion is translucent, about five minutes. Add the apple, curry powder and turmeric, then sauté another three minutes.
Add the ground beef and sauté, breaking up with a spoon, until cooked through and browned, about eight minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
Remove the bread from the milk, squeezing out and discarding any liquid. Break the bread into small pieces, and mix into the pot.
Mix in the brown sugar, raisins, almonds, salt, pepper, the juice and zest of one lemon and one egg. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan, using a spatula to smooth the top.
Cut the remaining lemon into wedges, and insert them vertically into the meat. Insert the bay leaves in the same manner. Cover the pan with foil, then bake for 20 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg and 1/2 cup milk. Remove the pan from the oven, and remove and discard the lemon wedges and bay leaves. Smooth the top of the meat.
Pour the milk and egg mixture over the meat, then bake, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Some key terms for making sense of African flavors
* Berbere: An Ethiopian spice blend of garlic, red pepper, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek and other spices. Often used in soups and stews.
* Grains of paradise: A West African seed related to ginger and cardamom. It is used as a spice and has a hot, pungent flavor.
* Harissa: A spicy sauce from Tunisia that usually contains chilies, garlic, cumin, coriander and olive oil. Usually accompanies couscous but is also used as a seasoning for soups and stews.
* Ras el hanout: A Moroccan spice blend that can contain as many as 50 ingredients.
* Tagine: Refers to both the food and the conical pot it is cooked in. A traditional dish and cooking method of Morocco for stews and meats.
* Teff: A North African cereal grain that is a staple in Ethiopia. It is used to make that nation's traditional spongy flatbread.
SOURCE: Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst's "Food Lover's Companion"