I call it unconventional, but maybe ampesi (boiled yam, cocoyam or unripe plantain) and abom (fresh cocoyam leaf stew) is a common breakfast in rural areas of Ghana, but in Accra we fancy ourselves modern so it’s all oats and rice water and bread and tea. But this is the real stuff, food that can take you from 6am to 6pm on a single plate. This is the good stuff.
My favorite part of abom is the sliced onions in there, the more onions the better. I used to hate raw onions as a child – and actually I only started eating abom recently – but now I don’t mind them in dishes. Or with red pepper. Or in a salad. It’s even better when they’re cooked though, but just a little bit so they still have the shape and the crunch
When it comes to ampesi, I’m not very picky. But if I had to rank the various options in terms of preference it would be new yam > unripe plantain > cocoyam >>> ripe plantain >> sweet potato >>>> old yam. I haven’t had cassava ampesi before but I imagine it must be good too.