Originally written as part of the World Cup 2014 cooking project.
Football:
I have been looking forward to writing the football part for Cameroon as they form part of some wonderful memories of Italia 90, where Les Lions Indomptables (The indomitable Lions) showed strength, speed and wonderful skill in lighting up the tournament. Their run came to an end with a brilliant quarter final against England, but I can’t mention Cameroon without mentioning the star of the show back then; the one and only Roger Milla. Officially he was 38 years old, unofficially he was older, but regardless he was an inspiration to the team and all that watched; and who could forget the Milla wiggle by the corner flag after he had scored. I also love the vibrant colour that the Cameroon strip brings to the football – red, green and yellow.
This time round Cameroon remains an unknown quantity. There qualifying was uninspiring but with an excellent pedigree they cannot be ruled out. Samuel Eto’o is their key player, but a successful run may have to depend on the resolute defence of another star Nicolas N’Koulou.
The Dish:
Some of the excitement of doing this project is to discover food and cooking methods from countries that I have never before studied; the countries of Africa are a great example. Cameroon was an eye opener and none so more than when I discovered, to my real surprise, that banana bread was a regional speciality. I looked further in to what produce Cameroon grows and found out that bananas and plantains are high on the list, so the banana bread conundrum was no longer a mystery. However, it is banana bread with a twist; roasted peanuts and dried prunes add great flavour and texture to the bread. I made this one with rice flour and corn meal flour which gives it an immensely pleasurable fine grainy texture. Served warm with chilled butter I am sure that even a defeat for your favourite team wouldn’t remove the smile of culinary pleasure.
