DRC – Pigs’ Trotters and Semolina

Jenny from the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) explains: Congolese food is very different to Irish food. In my country we cook semolina or pondu (vegetables). For dessert we have coconut and then we drink the coconut milk as beer.

We eat pork’s feet for dinner. I once went to a butcher in Athlone who said ‘No, we don’t have those’. He finally brought out one. I said, ‘Yes, I’ll have it!’ He asked, ‘Why?’, ‘Because I eat it! ‘”

Pig’s trotters, or crubeens, were also Irish delicacies. A friend once smuggled a package of them past US customs for an elderly aunt in Trenton New Jersey!

Ingredients

• Pig’s trotters
• Tomato puree
• Whole tomatoes
• Maggi (African stock cubes)
• Salt

Boil trotters with tomato puree, whole tomatoes, salt and maggi for around 20 minutes. Add the semolina gradually to boiling water so that the texture is smooth. Keep mixing until it is cooked, you judge this by the smell and taste.