West African Spinach Stew Recipes

EFO RIRO - NIGERIAN SPINACH STEW

Steps:

• Blend tomatoes, red bell pepper, habanero pepper and half of the onion together using a food processor.
• Chop up the other half of the onion and set aside.
• If using fresh spinach, chop it up, wash and squeeze, and leave in a colander. If using frozen spinach, microwave for a few minutes.
• Wash and drain the mushrooms.
• Heat palm oil in a pot on medium heat, add in your onions and stir for about 2 minutes.
• Add in your blended tomato and pepper mix and stir for about a minute.
• Add the bouillon powder, crayfish, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt, and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
• If using fresh spinach, add stock or water and bring to a boil.
• Add the goat meat, mushroom, and any other meat you desire and let boil for another 5 minutes.
• Add the spinach and stir intermittently for about 5 minutes.
• Add more salt or spices if desired.
• Garnish with red pepper flakes, if you want it spicier and enjoy!

SPINACH STEW

Steps:

• Start off by chopping up the spinach, tomatoes and onions and set aside
• Chop up your garlic, ginger and habanero peppers and blend with a little of water.
• Pour oil in a pre-heated pan and fry your onions for about 5 minutes.
• Add in the blended produce and tomatoes and let cook for another 5 minutes.
• Now you can add your spinach, lower the heat to medium and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Because the spinach and tomatoes have a lot of fluid in them and you don't want your stew to soggy. So after about an hour of cooking your world famous spinach stew is ready to be served.

WEST AFRICAN SPINACH STEW

Steps:

• Steam the beef in a large stock pot with a small amount of onion and ginger. While meat is steaming, thaw the spinach in the microwave. Once meat has steamed, add the diced onions to the pot with a tiny amount of olive oil and cook until soft.
• Stir in the stewed tomato, spinach, ginger, nutmeg, and chili powder. Cook over medium until fragrant. Add the eggs while stirring continuously to evenly distribute the eggs throughout the stew. Once egg has turned white in the stew serve immediately.
• Makes 6 Servings (2/3 cup each)

WEST AFRICAN PEANUT STEW

Steps:

• Heat the peanut oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; cook and stir the onion, garlic, and ginger in the hot oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken; cook and stir until completely browned. Season with the crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Pour the chicken stock over the mixture. Stir the sweet potatoes into the liquid and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover the pot partially with a lid, and cook at a simmer for 15 minutes.
• Stir the tomatoes, collard greens, and peanut butter into the soup. Partially cover the pot again and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, another 20 minutes.

WEST AFRICAN PEANUT STEW WITH SWEET POTATO & SPINACH

Steps:

• Cook the rice according to package instructions.
• While the rice cooks, make the stew. Set a medium soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. When hot, add the olive oil and the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and coriander and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
• Add the broth, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, ginger, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the stew comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until the sweet potatoes are tender, 8-10 minutes.
• Stir in the peanut butter and the spinach. Stew is done when the peanut butter has distributed and the spinach has wilted, about 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you like.
• Serve with a scoop of brown rice and garnish with cilantro and peanuts.

GHANAIAN SPINACH STEW WITH SWEET PLANTAINS

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, warm the palm oil over medium heat, and add the onions, garlic, ginger, chile and a couple pinches of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden brown and sweet, about 15 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and a few generous pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and partly cover the pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has cooked to a rich tomato-soup consistency, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pulse the egusi or pumpkin seeds in a food processor or blender to a fine powder, until it just starts to get clumpy. (Do not overprocess into a butter.) Remove to a bowl.
• When the tomatoes have reduced, add the shrimp powder (or smoked paprika and fish sauce to taste), and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, to the bowl of egusi powder until it is a loose paste. Add the egusi paste on top of the tomato sauce, and spread it out. Cover the pan, and cook 5 minutes.
• Stir the sauce all together; it will look like a thick porridge. Add a few splashes of water, and increase heat to a boil. Stir in the spinach, until wilted and tender. Taste, season with salt (or more fish sauce, if using) and serve with boiled sweet plantains.

WEST AFRICAN CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, cook chicken over medium heat in 2 teaspoons oil for 4-6 minutes or until no longer pink; remove and set aside., In the same pan, saute onion in remaining oil until tender. Add garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute longer., Stir in the peas, tomatoes, sweet potato, broth, peanut butter, 1-1/4 teaspoons thyme and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potato is tender. Add chicken; heat through., Serve with rice if desired. Sprinkle with remaining thyme.

AFRICAN SPINACH AND PEANUT BUTTER STEW

Steps:

• Slice the onions and fry in oil until soft.
• Peel the tomatoes in boiling water (or use tinned tomatoes). Slice and add to the onions.
• Wash, trim and chop the spinach coarsely.
• Add to the stew and cook, covered, over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
• Thin the peanut butter with hot water to make a smooth paste.
• Add to the stew.
• Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes, stirring and adding water if necessary to prevent sticking.
• Serve over steamed rice, polenta, or mashed potatoes, in fact, you could eat it with anything, really!

AFRICAN SPINACH

Steps:

• Cook onion and green pepper in peanut oil in a skillet for about 3-5 minutes, or until tender.
• Add spinach and tomato to skillet.
• Cover and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, or until spinach is tender.
• Stir in all remaining ingredients. Cook until hot throughout.
• Serving suggestion: Server with hot cooked rice or couscous.