Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Republic of the Congo recipes, part of Central Africa. This page provides links to all the Central African recipes presented on this site, with 10 recipes in total.

Republic of the Congo, (République du Congo in French) is a is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa. Its capital is Brazzaville and the Republic of the Congo gained independence from France in 1960. Ethnologue recognises 62 spoken languages in the country. The Kongo are the largest ethnic group and form roughly half of the population. The most significant subgroups of the Kongo are Laari, in Brazzaville and Pool regions, and the Vili, around Pointe-Noire and along the Atlantic coast. The second largest group is the Teke, who live to the north of Brazzaville, with 16.9% of the population. Mbochi live in the north, east and in Brazzaville and form 13.1% of the population. Pygmies make up 2% of Congo's population.

Congolese meals often consist of a starchy ingredient, along with vegetables and meat in the form of a stew. The starch can come in the form of a paste or mash made of cassava or corn flour, called fufu or ugali. When eaten, the fufu is rolled into golf-ball-sized balls and dipped into the spicy stew; often an indentation is made with the thumb in order to bring up a thimbleful of sauce

These recipes, for the major part, originate in the Republic of the Congo. Otherwise they are fusion recipes with major Republic of the Congo influences.

Republic of the Congo (République du Congo in French; Republíki ya Kongó in Lingala; Repubilika ya Kôngo in Kituba), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo, is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo River. It is bordered to the west by Gabon, to the northwest by Cameroon, to the northeast by the Central African Republic, to the southeast by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south by the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, and to the southwest by the Atlantic Ocean.

The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes at least 3,000 years ago, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. From the 13th century the present day territory was dominated by a confederation led by Vungu which included Kakongo and Ngoyo. Loango emerged in the 16th century. In the late 19th century France colonised the region and incorporated it into French Equatorial Africa. The Republic of the Congo was established on 28 November 1958 and gained independence from France in 1960. It was a Marxist–Leninist state from 1969 to 1992, under the name People's Republic of the Congo (PRC). The country has had multi-party elections since 1992, but a democratically elected government was ousted in the 1997 Republic of the Congo Civil War. President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who first came to power in 1979, ruled until 1992 and then again since after his reinstatement.

Etymology: It is named after the Congo River whose name is derived from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom which occupied its mouth around the time the Portuguese first arrived in 1483 or 1484. The kingdom's name derived from its people, the Bakongo, an endonym said to mean 'hunters' (Kongo: mukongo, nkongo).

During the period when France colonised it, it was known as the French Congo or Middle Congo. The Republic of the Congo, or simply Congo, is a distinct country from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo. Brazzaville's name derives from the colony's founder, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazzà, an Italian nobleman whose title referred to the town of Brazzacco, in the Italian comune of Moruzzo in Friuli Venezia Giulia, whose name derived from the Latin Brattius or Braccius, both meaning literally 'arm'.

Congo Food and Cuisine:

The cuisine of the Democratic Republic of the Congo varies widely, representing the food of indigenous people. Cassava, fufu, rice, plantain and potatoes are generally the staple foods

Less than two percent of the land is cultivated, and most of this is used for subsistence farming. Congo's farmland is the source of a wide variety of crops. These include maize, rice, cassava (manioc), sweet potatoes, yam, taro, plantain, tomatoes, pumpkin and varieties of peas and nuts. These foods are eaten throughout the country, but there are also regional dishes. The most important crops for export are coffee and palm oil.

Wild plants, fruits, mushrooms, honey and other foods such as bushmeat and fish are also gathered, hunted, and used in dishes. People often sell these crops at markets, or by the roadside. Cattle breeding and the development of large-scale agricultural businesses have been hindered by the recent war and the poor quality of the road system.

A type of fermented bread, kwanga or chikwangue, made from cassava, is commercially produced throughout the country. Lituma is a popular plantain dish made from mashed plantains which are formed into balls and baked. Sweet potatoes are prepared in a similar way, and mixed with roasted peanuts in some parts of the country. Rice is often mixed with beans.