Chicken, cassava leaf and peanut butter stew
4
Easy
20 minutes
1 hour 10 minutes
“This recipe is from Casamance, Senegal. If you don’t have cassava or sweet potato leaves, any leafy vegetable will do. This recipe uses peanut butter as a substitute for the traditional peanut flour. I use chicken here, but it can also be served with any meat or seafood, or even with firm tofu, potato, or cauliflower.” – Pierre Thiam, Senegal
Ingredients
Method
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For the nokoss (pepper paste):
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 T dawadawa (fermented locust bean) (optional)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 t black peppercorns
- ½ t cayenne pepper (optional) For the chicken:
- 1 T sea salt, or to taste
- 2 T fish sauce
- 4 free-range boneless chicken thighs
- 115 g smooth peanut butter
- 350 g chopped cassava leaves (can use frozen)
- 4 T prepared nokoss
- 1 habanero pepper (optional)
- 65 g finely chopped okra (optional)
- 2 T red palm oil
- cooked fonio or rice, for serving
Method
Ingredients
1. Place all the nokoss ingredients into a blender or a mortar. Blend or pound with the pestle until well combined and then put into a sterilised jar with a lid. Nokoss can be kept in a refrigerator for up to 1 week.
2. In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups water to a boil over high heat. Add the salt, fish sauce, and chicken thighs. Cook over a medium heat for approximately 10–15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken, set aside to cool, then shred into bite-sized pieces.
3. Add the peanut butter to the broth and return to a boil for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium–low and stir with a wooden spoon for approximately 2–3 minutes, until the peanut butter is completely dissolved. Add the cassava leaves and bring to a boil by turning the heat to high for approximately 1 minute.
4. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15–20 minutes until the leaves are soft. Add the nokoss and habanero pepper, if using. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon and continue simmering for a further 10–15 minutes.
5. Return the cooked and shredded chicken to the stew. Add the chopped okra, if using, and palm oil and gently stir with a wooden spoon, being careful not to crush the habanero pepper into the stew (or else it may be too spicy). Simmer for another 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the seasoning, remove the habanero pepper, and set aside.
6. Serve over fonio or rice. The habanero pepper can be served on the side, if desired.
Find more chicken recipes here
Photographer: Rich Kissi
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