Fante fante to me is one of those really simple but delicious stews that are so easy to make but also easy to mess up by doing just too much, every single ingredients must complement each other. The hero is the fresh seafood so every other thing is just there to complement it. My version of Fante Fante has a bit of fresh shrimp for texture and shrimp powder for sweetnesses. I used both whole red snapper and whole tilapia when I was testing this recipe, both were delicious. Take note though that tilapia has quite a lot of bones so it's a bit tricky when eating. Whatever fish you choose, it would still be delicious.

Recipe

what you need

Spices

1 small calabash nutmeg ( wedia aba )

1/4 teaspoon 3fom wisa

1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary 

1 teaspoon anise

Marinade

Spices

2 large onions

1 thumb sized ginger, (I 1/2 tablespoons)

1 small garlic bulb (10 cloves)

Kpakpo shito *

For the stew

1 small momoni or 2 tablespoons of fish sauce (optional)

2 large fresh whole tilapias/red snapper (840g total weight), each cut into 3

Leftover marinade 

134g fresh shrimps (optional), cleaned and deveined* 

3 cups very thick freshly blended tomatoes , (don’t blend with water)*

1 large onion, sliced

1/2 tablespoon curry powder

1/3+ cup palm oil ( as much as you want)

2-3 tbs tablespoons shrimp powder

1 small onion sliced, to garnish

• Chop tomatoes up before blending to make it easier to blend. This way you wouldn't have to even use water. Use very ripe fresh tomatoes so you can get a bit of sweetness in the stew

• Kpakpo shito is a type of green chili indigenous to Ghana and Africa. It is tiny and very fragrant and not as hot as the other peppers. Use as much pepper as you want. If Kpakpo shito is unavailable any type of green chili works fine too.

• You can use the fresh shrimps whole or peel the skin and leave the head and tail on. The head has a lot of flavor so I left my head on and peeled everything off. Do whatever suits you.

• I’ve never heard of any food that was destroyed by too much garlic so when it comes to garlic, I use any quantity I lay my hands on first

• If using fish sauce, add it when you add the blended tomatoes.

Directions

Blend all the ingredients for the marinade and set aside. Pat fish cuts with a kitchen/paper towel to dry them and place in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the marinade to the fish and add salt. Mix everything together and cover with a cling film. Set aside in the refrigerator and let marinade for at least 1 hr. Overnight works too.

To make the stew, place a wide pan over medium heat and add the palm oil. Allow oil to heat up then add the momoni and sliced onions. Fry onions until golden then add the rest of the marinade. Cook the marinade for 4 mins or until fragrant. Stir so the bottom doesn't burn. Add the blended tomatoes and stir. Add salt and turn the heat to low. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Add the curry powder, fish cuts (including any leftover marinade) and the shrimp. Be gentle when placing the fish. Cover and allow to simmer for 6 mins then add the shrimp powder. Stir gently and cover pan. Cook until fish is cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes then add the extra onions. Simmer for 2 mins, stir, taste and adjust salt. If stew is too thick, thin it out with a bit of water. Taste and adjust salt every time you add water.

Serve with banku, etiw or rice