Labouyi farine France (Flour porridge)
Back home, in the weekly menu, it was guaranteed that the all purpose flour (also known as Farine France) ingredient would be listed.
Either as breakfast or supper, mother would make sure that we would have porridge! Flour porridge to be more precise. When I moved here in New York, the only porridge-like dish that was offered to me was oatmeal. I grew very fond of it as I would eat it frequently in the morning with maple syrup and blueberries . YUM !
But it would just not quite cut it for me. It was far from reminding me the taste of our morning Akasan (some kind of corn porridge/ I will soon post about it) or our evening labouyi of banana, cassava, potato and farine france (flour).
I was craving it one day so bad after school that I disparately called up a friend on the phone and asked her to teach me how to cook it!.
FLOUR PORRIDGE
Ingredients
3 cups of Water
1 can of evaporated milk (5oz)
2 tbsp of sugar
3/4 or 1/2 cup of All purpose flour
Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Star anise
zest of lemon
1 tsp of grated nutmeg
Directions
Pour 2 cups of water in a Pot and let it boil . After a while, you can add your spices and sugar.
Leave them to boil to form a tea-like substance.
Pour the remaining cup of water into a bowl while the 2 cups of water are still boiling with the spices.
Add the flour gradually into it. Stir until homogeneous and clump-free.
Add your flour mixture into your tea mixture. Stir continuously as you slowly add the milk.
Stir until thick enough (to your liking).
NEVER cover your porridge.
I would usually eat my porridge with pieces of bread that I would rip with my fingers and let them sink into the creamy dish. I’d pick it up with my spoon and enjoy the sweet and warm dish!
But today as I am more health-aware, I prefer eating it with fruits and sometimes I add a lite maple syrup to it.
Bon appetit 😉
P.S. More holiday-like recipes coming up. I miss home so much!
I’d love to try this one…looks really good!!! : D
I found your site purely by accident. I was in the kitchen today making Labouyi and explaining to my daughter how to make it (she’s 12) she knows how to make Labouyi with the green plantain, but this is her fav. I will try your recipe, which is a lot like mine. The only difference, I toast my flour (not to brown, but to cook it a luttle) while my water and spices are cooking. I found that it does not make it very lumpy. I’ll try it without toasting next time
My mother is used to cooking her dry flour as well. I never knew that was the reason behind it.
I guess you never stop learning.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
All purpose flour is not Farine France. Farine France aka Farine pomme de Terre is completely different than all purpose flour. Can’t even compare in texture nor taste.
Interesting. I’ve looked into it and asked the “granmounns” (elderlies) and was told the exact opposite.
Farine France is all purpose flour and potato flour is just potato flour.
I guess I need to look into it some more. Thank you for your input. If you find out anything additional on your side, don’t hesitate to share