This delicious and colourful warm salad was inspired by the Nigerian asun. Asun is peppered goat meat, which originated from Ondo/Ekiti area of Western Nigeria, but is served at parties across the Yoruba speaking parts of the country. Asun means “smoked” in Yoruba language. To make it, the goat is smoked over a giant barbecue before being cut into pieces, which are mixed with onions and hot pepper sauce.
This peppered goat meat salad recipe allows you to enjoy the delectable and bold flavours of asun at home, but with lots of vegetables. This sumptuous warm salad is hearty enough to be a meal on its own. It can also be eaten as a side or a healthy snack.
My Nigerian peppered goat meat warm salad is suitable for those winter days when people don’t feel like eating cold food. It will warm you up and fill you up. Give it to that person in your family who doesn’t like salads and be amazed by how quickly they change their minds.
Hot food is one of the signatures of the Yorubas and asun can be quite hot, hence why I have added scotch bonnet for some heat. Adjust the type and quantity of pepper to suit your heat tolerance level.
If the idea of warm salad is new to you like it was to me when I first came into the UK many years ago, please read this Guardian article.
If you like the idea of warm salads from the African continent, then you must try this Moroccan taktouka and Nigerian spiced corn recipes.
How to Prepare Peppered Goat Meat Warm Salad
Remember this is a cheat method to enjoy Nigerian asun flavours at home easily and I’ve had to improvise. The Nigerian peppered goat meat is prepared with the skin on and if you can find goat meat with skin on, that is great, and will give an even more authentic asun taste.
This warm salad recipe is easily adaptable. You can swap the vegetables with whatever you have available or like.
Asun (Peppered Goat Meat) Warm Salad
Ingredients
- 500 g Goat meat cut into small pieces
- 2 medium Onions sliced
- 4 cloves Garlic chopped
- 2 teaspoons Grated ginger root
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1 Scotch bonnet chopped
- 3 Peppers assorted colours, sliced
- ½ head Purple cabbage sliced thinly
- 10 Baby carrots or 2 large carrots, sliced
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.
- Pour the goat meat into a saucepan.
- Add half of the onions and garlic into the pan.
- Add a teaspoon of the ginger with some salt to taste.
- Pour in a quarter of a cup of water, cover and allow to simmer.
- After 15 mins, the goat meat should be tender. Remove from heat. If you are using goat meat with the skin on, you may need to leave for longer.
- While the goat meat is cooking, prepare the vegetables by slicing the bell peppers, carrots and the cabbage. Chop the scotch bonnet.
- Remove the meat pieces from the pan and pour on a lined tray. Place in the oven and allow to grill for 15 mins.
- While the meat is in the oven, heat the oil in a saucepan and add the remaining onions.
- Allow the onion to cook until translucent. Add the remaining garlic, the last teaspoon of ginger and the scotch bonnet. Continue to stir for around a minute.
- Pour in the peppers, purple cabbage and the carrots. Add a pinch of salt.
- Reduce the heat and cover the pan for a few minutes to allow the vegetables to sweat and flavours to develop. Open the pot and stir often. This should take no more than 10 mins.
- Remove the goat meat from the oven, and pour in the pan. Stir in with the vegetables and continue to stir for another minute or two.
- Remove from heat.
[…] Asun salad […]