Zobo with ginger and pineapple

Plan a week with Nigerian dishes

Let's cook

1. Put the hibiscus in a sieve and rinse it under the cold tap to wash off any dust.
2. Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple and cut away the skin. Keep the skin and the hard core: they go in the pot for flavour. Cut a quarter of the flesh into small neat cubes for serving and keep them in the fridge. Roughly chop the rest of the flesh.
3. Put the hibiscus, pineapple skin, core and chopped flesh, ginger and cloves in a large pan with 1.5 litres water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes. The water turns deep red.
4. Take the pan off the heat and leave it to steep for 10 minutes. Pour it through a fine sieve into a large jug, pressing the fruit with a spoon to get all the juice out. Throw away what is in the sieve.
5. Stir in the sugar while the zobo is still warm so it dissolves, then the lime juice. Taste: add more sugar if you like it sweeter.
6. Leave it to cool, then chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Serve over ice in tall glasses with a few pineapple cubes and a sprig of mint.

Tips

• Hibiscus stains, so wipe up drips and use a glass or steel jug rather than plastic.
• Zobo keeps in a covered jug in the fridge for 3 days. Do not keep it longer, as it starts to ferment.

Swaps

• No added sugar: leave it out and sweeten each glass with a splash of pineapple juice instead.
• Spicier: add a cinnamon stick, or a small strip of scotch bonnet, as it simmers.

More in the Nigerian meal plan

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.