Times of Zambia in conjunction with Sylvia Banda and her husband Hector, the proprietors of Sylvia Professional Catering Services Limited will be running a Zambian dish from the Zambian Cookbook, published by the couple every week on this column.
We will share the views of the Banda’s that food has a strong cultural, historical and socio-economical relevance especially to Zambians in the Diaspora who would like to taste the foods they were raised on. So let’s cook on with a recipe from the Zambian Cookbook.
SOUPS
Fishbone soup (umuto we sabi)
INGREDIENTS                                                     Cooking utensils
1kg – dry fish bone                                              1. Saucepan
1 50 – kilogramme (Kg)                                           1 Knife
100 kg – onion                                                   1 cooking stick
150 grammes (g) -chopped carrots           1 wooden spoon
200 g -dry sweet potatoes                     1 bowl
300 ml -milk                                              1 chopping board
150 g -assorted vegetables
5g -clove garlic
-salt
-water
METHOD
1.      Wash hands
2.      Sort and wash beans, put in a saucepan and bring to the boil
3.      Cook until tender
4.      Put fish bones in saucepan and bring to the boil
5.      Add chopped onions, garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, assorted
vegetables and cook until tender.
6.      Drain water from fish bones
7.      Mash cooked beans and add the drained fishbone water to make soup
8.      Sieve  soup and add milk and salt
9.      Simmer the soup and remove the scum
SERVE HOT WITH BOILED FRESH CASSAVA OR FRESH SWEET POTATOES.
Nutritional value –protein, minerals, carbohydrates and vitamins
Copyright 2007 by Sylvia C. Banda and Hector H. Banda
Sylvia Professional Catering Service Ltd
P.O Box 34977
Lusaka
Tel: 260 1 290344 (cell: 260 96 6 438505)
Email: lanku2001yahoo.com
www.sylviacatering.educationzambia.com