Vegetable Maafé
recipe adapted from Yewande Komolafe at NYT Cooking | photos by Talitha Schroeder
ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, scrubbed and grated
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14½-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 red Scotch bonnet pepper
Salt to taste
2 medium green plantains, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups vegetable stock or water
2 medium carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
½ medium butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup creamy, unsalted peanut butter
2 tablespoon tamarind purée (optional)
2 teaspoons ground dawadawa (fermented locust bean) or 1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
4 cups hearty greens, such as mature spinach, turnip greens, collards or kale, chopped with stems
Steamed rice or millet, for serving
1 lime, sliced, for squeezing
directions
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium, and add the onion and garlic. Sauté until soft and just beginning to brown at the edges, about 6 minutes. Add in the grated ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, stirring to evenly coat the vegetables. Cook until the paste turns brick red, another minute or so.
Add the whole tomatoes and their liquid, breaking up the tomatoes in the pot. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits that have stuck to the surface. Using a sharp knife, poke slits in the Scotch bonnet and drop it into the pot. Season the sauce with salt, and bring the sauce to a simmer.
Add the plantains and cook until they just begin to soften, 10 minutes. Add the butternut squash, carrots and vegetable stock. Increase the heat to high and bring the stew up to a boil. Once the liquid is bubbling, reduce heat to medium. Cook until the vegetables are just fork tender, about 15 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, tamarind purée, ground dawadawa or fish sauce, if using, with ¼ cup hot liquid from the pot. Stir into a loose sauce. Stir the peanut butter mixture into the pot.
Feel free to switch up the veggies or sub in sweet potatoes, turnips, white potatoes, etc.
Stir in the greens. Drop the heat to low and let the sauce simmer, stirring frequently, for another 10 minutes or until the sauce is thickened to a creamy but loose consistency. Remove from heat, taste and season with more salt if necessary. Remove the Scotch bonnet chile and discard. Serve maafé over steamed rice, fonio or millet, with a couple of lime slices for squeezing.
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