Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen: Traditional Ghanaian Recipes Remixed for the Modern Kitchen

Adjonyoh, a self-taught chef with Ghanaian roots who has pop-up restaurants in London and Berlin, succeeds in maintaining an easygoing and affectionate vibe in this book while also imparting tremendous amounts of information. In an extensive glossary section, she helpfully describes staple ingredients such as agushi (dried melon seeds) and various chilies. Fante-Fante, a fish stew from her grandmother’s native coastal region, is straightforward, but variations (such as sprinkling in ground dried shrimp) for coaxing deeper flavor are provided. Each serving of the okra soup Nkruma Nkwan includes a giant fermented cornmeal dumpling (store-bought or made using Adjonyoh’s recipe) that resembles an ostrich egg. The author also nods to her mother’s Irish heritage with Ghanaian-Irish Scotch Eggs in a coating of black pudding and yams. But the focus is on West Africa. This culturally immersive cookbook even includes a music playlist; a map of regions and their dishes proves to be useful. The chapter cheekily titled “Cheat Sheets” contains recipes for spice mixes and the omnipresent Chalé Sauce that Adjonyoh learned from her father. African cuisine remains largely unexplored in the West, and this excellent and appealing volume offers the warmest of welcomes. (June)