In this pan-African menu, disparate parts of the continent are melded in a culinary way. The sausage is inherited from the Dutch colonialists in South Africa; the cashews, which were first brought from Brazil by the Portuguese, import a taste of Nigeria on the west coast and Mozambique on the east coast; and the spiced butter, called niter kibbeh, wafts in gently from Ethiopia. The rice and collard greens are pan-global.
Clear Butters: Niter kibbeh is basically ghee, the preferred cooking fat of India, but seasoned with spices and a bit of onion. Both niter kibbeh and ghee are versions of clarifi ed butter. They are drawn butters, meaning the milk solids have been extracted by gently melting butter to separate the fat from the solids, called the dross. The pure butter fat is poured off and the dross, left on the bottom, is discarded. The result is a sweeter, richer butter with a smoke point that is much higher than regular butter, so it doesn't burn as readily. In addition, because these drawn butters are without uncooked milk solids that can spoil, they will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator, especially niter kibbeh and ghee, which are further condensed by lengthy simmering to evaporate all their natural water. They are a cinch to make, as illustrated in this pan-African recipe (page 69), and I always have the unseasoned, long-keeping version, ghee, on hand for wilting a mirepoix, cooking pancakes, shallow frying, or sautéing. A note: for making clarified butters, I use unsalted butter.
