Tomato sauce, or the Ivorian ketchup

Gourmets or foodies sometimes make fun of the American palate claiming that Americans put ketchup on everything. Well, the ubiquitous tomato sauce could be described similarly when it comes to Ivorian food. Whenever a dish is somewhat dry, that is, is neither a soup or a stew or anything along those lines, you can be sure that Ivorians will serve some tomato sauce as accompaniment to compensate for the dryness. The good thing is that there can be as many flavors and styles of that sauce as there are cooks, so it never actually gets old. I have had some with chunky onions, or in which the onions are smoothly blended, spicy or mild,  some with shrimp powder, or some adjovan for truly amazing, almost mysterious flavors. The tomato sauce goes well with alloco, attieke, grilled chicken, or fish, beef skewers, anything really. It is truly a way of life and a delicious one.

Tomato sauce Recipe

Print recipe

Serves	4
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	35 minutes
Dietary	Gluten Free
Meal type	Side Dish

Ingredients

• 3 Large tomatoes
• 1 Small onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 1-2 scotch bonnet peppers
• 2 cloves garlic

Directions

1.	Puree tomatoes, onions (peeled and cut in quarters) and garlic.
2.	Heat up oil in a pan, add the melange plus one cup of water. Add chili, bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste.
3.	Cook uncovered at medium temperature until the sauce no longer "bubbles" and a little bit of oil appears on surface. About 15-20mn.