Preparation
- Toast the fonio in a saucepan until it is warm. Add the water, cover the saucepan with a lid and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes. The fonio will absorb the water. Set aside to cool in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Peel and slice the mangos. Dice them into small chunks.
- Wash and dry your preferred greens, such as dandelion, spinach or any other greens.
Baby spinach works well for its subtle flavour and crisp texture.
- Add cashew nuts or your choice of nuts for a sweet and crunchy texture.
- Halve the cherry tomatoes and thinly slice the red bell pepper (you can also use yellow
or orange bell pepper). Remove the seeds from the pepper.
- Use a combination of fresh basil, coriander and mint for a savoury and refreshing flavour.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large salad bowl.
- Season and dress the salad with a dash of kosher salt, black pepper, lime juice, raw
honey and extra virgin olive oil. Add Aleppo pepper for a bit of heat. If available, use a
flavourful olive oil.
Tip: if you are not serving the salad immediately, hold off on seasoning and dressing until
you are ready. Taste the salad after seasoning and adjust if needed, adding more salt,
Aleppo pepper or lime juice according to your preference. There are no rules to this so
enjoy customizing your salad!
About the chef
Sierra Leone
Chef Fatmata Binta hails from Sierra Leone, and her culinary practice is rooted in the Fulani
people’s family and community cooking traditions. The first African to receive the Basque
Culinary World Prize in 2022, Chef Binta is using the prize money to set up the Fulani Kitchen
Foundation supporting women farmers and their cultivation of fonio, a type of millet, as an
additional source of income and a crop that is resilient to climate change. She is a strong
promoter of fonio and the International Year of Millets 2023.