Cuisines of the World: Benin
SynopsisPlot
This Benin cookbook makes the culinary experience accessible and delicious for everyone. Inside, you will find: • The best recipes from Beninese cuisine, prepared simply and authentically • Dishes with meat, fish, and plant-based options for a balanced diet • Typical Beninese ingredients that are easy to find • Practical and flavorful recipes, perfect for those who love discovering new cultures • Large, colorful photos to inspire you to recreate each dish
Story
About this book
Cuisines of the World: Benin by Elise Leclerc is a cookbook focused on the food traditions of Benin, a narrow West African country that stretches from the Gulf of Guinea northward into the Sahel. The book presents a selection of Beninese recipes organized to include meat, fish, and plant-based dishes, offering a range of options across different dietary preferences. Each recipe is accompanied by a large color photograph intended to show the finished dish.
Beninese cooking draws on ingredients such as cassava, yams, palm oil, and dried fish, and the book aims to guide readers toward versions of these dishes that use ingredients available outside Benin. The recipes are described as straightforward in preparation, with an emphasis on preserving the character of the original flavors rather than simplifying them beyond recognition. The collection sits within a broader series titled Cuisines of the World, which positions each volume as an entry point into a specific national food culture.
The book is structured as a practical kitchen reference rather than a cultural survey, though the food itself carries historical layers tied to trade routes, local agriculture, and regional cooking methods found across southern and central Benin.
