Burkina Faso Top 5: Part 1 - Food

As some may know, I love a top 5 (except with Bealtes songs – it is impossible to have a top 5 so don’t even try to tell me you have one). For the next few posts, I’ll give you a few top5s of Burkina Faso and hopefully it will show just what I really like about this country. There is very little not to.


Today’s topic. Food.

Missing out on the top5 is this plate of caterpillars served with a helping of rice. They tasted of wood.

5) Ragout et pommes de terre. Its meat. Its potatoes. Could almost be in Yorkshire. What more do you want?

4) Yaourt et sucre. As I said in my last post – this is a delicious desert after a huge lunch. More like a shot of sugar.

3) Chicken and chips. If you’re Western and don’t fancy dipping your toe into the luke warm bath of West African cuisine, I’m guessing you’ve ordered ‘Poulet et des frites’. Its usually covered in oil but this is the best thing about it. Naughty but nice.

2) Riz et sauce. Burkina’s favourite. The legend Seydou’s favourite. With ‘sauce tomat’ or ‘sauce feuille’ (quite nutty that one). At 80pence in one of the countless Madamme’s restaurants – a steal. And the portions are huge!

1) Advocat sandwich for breakfast. My favourite Burkina Faso dish for my favourite meal. Sound strange? It did to me at first but since I discovered this delightful little stand near work run by the evergreen Dauda, it has become my staple meal to get me pumped up for another day in Burkina Faso. It has got to the stage when Dauda doesn’t even ask me what I want. I’ve watched him make it so much, here’s the recipe.

• 1 advocat

• 1 small tomato

• 1 small onion

• Loads of oil

• More than a pinch of salt

• A fresh baguette.

Take the advocat and remove the stone. Scoop out the inside and chop up in a warm pan. Finely chop an onion and a tomato and mix in with the advocat. Throw as much oil as you can into the pan (Dauda doesn’t use Tesco’s finest I’m guessing?) and a fairly kind helpful of salt. Mix together and spoon into a baguette. Serve with a ‘voila’.

Just don’t order Cafe au Lait with your sandwich. Dauda serves his coffee in a bowl with a spoon.