Foutou Banane

What it really is

A smooth, pounded plantain staple served with Ivorian sauces and stews.

Foutou banane is made by cooking plantain and pounding it into a smooth, elastic dough. Some versions combine plantain with cassava. It is a staple served with a sauce rather than a filled or baked dish.

Foutou banane is paired with regional sauces. One version combines plantain and cassava; it is served with sauce Assiaploua among the Agni of Indénié-Djuablin and with aubergine sauce in Akan areas. Other pairings include seed-based sauce. The pounded plantain is the staple, while the sauce carries much of the variation in ingredients and regional identity. A menu should not imply that every plate comes with the same stew.

The cooked plantain is pounded until the mixture becomes smooth and cohesive. When cassava is included, the balance of the two starches changes the texture and should be stated if known. The finished portion is shaped and served beside the chosen sauce so it can be taken with each bite. This is different from fried plantain, which remains in pieces, and from a plantain cake that is baked or fried. Foutou is a staple accompaniment rather than a self-contained filling or stew.

Accompanying sauces can include a broad range of ingredients, including vegetables, meat, fish, crab or snails in the Assiaploua preparation it describes. These ingredients belong to the accompaniment, not automatically to the foutou itself. Separating the two components in a dish description helps explain why the same plantain paste may be served with different proteins and why its allergen profile depends on the selected sauce. This entry represents the plantain staple, with cassava as a possible addition.

How it's served

Serve in portions alongside sauce graine, kédjénou or another stew.

• Present the pounded staple beside its sauce; list the sauce’s seafood or meat additions separately.

How to write it on the menu

Clarify whether cassava is blended with the plantain in the recipe.

• Name the sauce served and disclose its protein and other major ingredients; they are not inherent to the plantain paste.