Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in the 2022 series of BBC TV’s Masterchef competition.

Every Saturday Yemi writes on the Stray Ferret about her love of the area’s food and shares cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

There are some dishes that feel like old friends: always welcome, always comforting, never out of place, no matter the time of day. For me, yam pottage is one of those. 

In Nigeria, it is a staple that slips seamlessly onto the breakfast table, makes itself at home at lunch or dinner, and is as fitting for a grand celebration as it is for an everyday family meal. It’s hearty, nourishing and, when well cooked, irresistibly moreish with the most attractive colour.

At its heart, yam pottage is simple. It begins with African yam, which is a starchy, ivory-fleshed tuber that is closer in texture to a potato but much firmer, with its own unique depth of flavour. When simmered in a pepper-based sauce, the yam softens and collapses just enough to create a dish that is part stew, part mash, all bound together by a rich, spiced sauce.

Traditionally, this dish is made with palm oil, which gives the pottage a vibrant reddish hue and a smoky depth. But as with many Nigerian dishes, it adapts beautifully to what you have on hand. A neutral oil or even olive oil works just as well, bringing a lighter touch but still allowing the flavours of the sauce to shine.

And what a sauce it is. The base is built from red bell peppers, tomato paste, onions, garlic, ginger and chilli, which in my kitchen is usually a fiery scotch bonnet, habanero or pul biber flakes, but any good fresh chilli will do. 

For deeper flavour, I like to roast the tomatoes, peppers and onions before blending them into a smooth paste. That extra step concentrates their sweetness and adds a subtle smokiness that transforms the final dish.

Once the blended mixture hits hot oil, the kitchen fills with the kind of aroma that pulls people towards the pot. Seasonings are layered in: turmeric for warmth and colour, curry powder for fragrance, thyme for earthiness, and a good homemade stock for body. The yam pieces are then stirred in to absorb the flavours as they cook, softening into golden chunks surrounded by a glossy, spiced sauce.

One of the delights of yam pottage is its versatility. Some prefer it thick, with the yam broken down almost completely into a smooth, comforting mash. Others like it chunkier, with tender cubes sitting in a peppery broth. However you cook it, the dish rewards patience and seasoning. A well-balanced yam pottage is savoury, gently spiced, and layered with enough heat to make you sit up and pay attention without overwhelming the palate.

In many Nigerian homes, it is customary to serve yam pottage with an extra spoonful of fried pepper sauce on top which is sometimes needed to elevate the flavour. This sauce, made by slowly cooking blended peppers and onions in oil until they darken and intensify, is the fiery cousin of the main dish. Added sparingly, it lifts each spoonful with a smoky, spicy kick.

Yam pottage carries with it a sense of generosity because the end result relies on your generosity with the spices and base ingredients. The more time you spend on it, the better the result. For the flavours to really infuse into the yam pieces, it has to be cooked low and slow, otherwise the flavour sits around the yam rather than infused into it.

It can be dressed up with fish, meat or vegetables, or kept plain and simple, relying on the natural flavour of the yam and peppers to carry the dish. At weddings, naming ceremonies or birthdays, it often appears alongside other dishes, but in truth it needs no supporting cast.

What I love most is its adaptability. Just as palm oil can be swapped for olive oil, the method itself works beautifully with other root vegetables. Sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes or even parsnips can be cooked in the same peppery base, each offering its own unique flavour twist.

For extra nutrition, fresh greens like spinach or kale can be stirred in just before serving. For vegetarians, beans bring depth and heartiness. A version of this dish is black eye beans cooked in the same pepper base until it’s almost cooked before yam cubes are added.

However you choose to cook it, the principle remains the same: a dish rooted in simplicity and lifted by care and time.

Cooking yam pottage is an act of patience and love, but eating it is pure comfort. It’s the kind of dish that doesn’t just fill you up, it grounds you and connects you to a tradition where food is not only sustenance but memory and celebration.

“Some dishes are eaten. Others are remembered. Yam pottage is both.” If you need a new way to eat potatoes, this is one for you. Here is a simple recipe.

Simple Yam Pottage (Asaro)

Serves 4

Ingredients

· 1 medium African yam (or substitute with sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, or parsnips), peeled and cut into chunks

· 2 red bell peppers

· 1 scotch bonnet (or other fresh chilli, to taste)

· 2 medium tomatoes

· 2 onions (1 roasted or blended, 1 sliced)

· 4-5 cloves garlic

· 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger

· 2 tbsp tomato paste

· 3-4 tbsp palm oil (or olive oil/neutral oil)

· 1 tsp turmeric

· 1 tsp curry powder

· 1 tsp dried thyme

· 500ml vegetable or chicken stock (or water). I used a smoked turkey stock.

· Smoked sea salt to taste

Method

1. Roast the peppers, tomatoes and one onion until slightly charred, then blend with garlic, ginger and chilli to a smooth paste.

2. Heat oil in a pot and fry the sliced onion with a pinch of salt until soft. Stir in tomato paste, and fry until it turns darker and separates into pebble-like pieces

3. Add the blended pepper mixture. Cook until the sauce thickens and the oil begins to separate.

4. Add turmeric, curry powder, thyme and stock. Stir well.

5. Add the yam (or other root vegetables) and simmer on low heat until tender, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the base. Cook until some pieces break down into the sauce.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add finely shredded green vegetables for the last 3 minutes, depending on taste.

7. Serve hot or warm, with optional fried pepper sauce on the side.