Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Akume with Ademe Sauce
A smooth cornmeal swallow served with ademe, a slippery jute-leaf sauce cooked with smoked fish and palm oil.
Togolese · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 40 min
~483 cal · 23g protein · 65g carbs · 17g fat · 8g fiber · 2g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Akume with ademe sauce is one of the most beloved comfort meals in Togo, especially among the Ewe of the south. Akume is a smooth swallow of cornmeal, sometimes with a little dough, stirred over the heat until firm and shaped into a mound to be torn and dipped by hand.
Ademe is the sauce, made from jute mallow leaves, the same slippery green used across West Africa, cooked with onion, chili, red and smoked fish or crab until it thickens into a glossy, faintly mucilaginous stew. Ground crayfish deepens the savour, and the slight slipperiness is exactly what a good ademe should have.
Nourishing and rooted in family tradition, it is simple food meant to be shared, the swallow used as an edible spoon for the green sauce.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups fine cornmeal (maize flour)
1 lb ademe (jute mallow) leaves, or spinach, chopped
1 cup smoked fish, boned and flaked
2 tbsp ground crayfish
1 onion, chopped
1 chili, chopped
3 tbsp red
1 cube
Instructions
1
For the akume, stir the cornmeal into simmering water a little at a time over low heat, beating hard until it is thick, firm and smooth, then shape into mounds.
✎ Chef’s note
Beat the cornmeal constantly as it thickens so no lumps form, adding a splash of hot water if it stiffens too fast.
2
For the sauce, simmer water with the smoked fish (or mushrooms), onion, chili, ground crayfish and crumbled stock cube for about 10 minutes.
3
Stir in the red palm oil, then add the chopped ademe leaves and cook 5 to 7 minutes until the sauce is thick, green and glossy.
4
Season to taste and serve the sauce with the akume, torn and dipped by hand.
Lomé Ewe home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Lomé. Gboma is not spinach. It is the leaf of Solanum macrocarpon, the African eggplant, and spinach is only the substitute cooks reach for elsewhere. The same dish is called shoko in Ghana and Benin, and akoume, the fermented maize dough it comes with, is also known as to.
🗺️
Togo. Togolese food is West African at heart, pâte (corn or cassava dough) with okra or spinach sauces, grilled fish, and fufu. Palm oil, chili, and groundnut define a small nation's flavorful table.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Togo
Gboma DessiA rich Togolese spinach stew simmered with tomato, red palm oil, and beef or fish.
AyimolouA one-pot of rice and beans cooked together and served with a spicy pepper sauce, Togo's breakfast.
DjenkouméA savory red maize-meal paste cooked with tomato and palm oil, served with grilled chicken, a Togolese celebration favorite.
Browse all Togo recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Thickens as it sits. Reheat with extra water or milk to loosen, and keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated.
Make it a Togo meal
Galidossi (Gari and Milk Dessert)Dessert
Gboma DessiDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Akume with Ademe Sauce?
A smooth cornmeal swallow served with ademe, a slippery jute-leaf sauce cooked with smoked fish and palm oil.
Where does Akume with Ademe Sauce come from?
Akume with Ademe Sauce is a Togolese dish from Lomé, Togo.
Can Akume with Ademe Sauce be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Akume with Ademe Sauce recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Akume with Ademe Sauce safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Akume with Ademe Sauce take to make?
About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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