Day 120: Mozambique and Matapa

Good evening, Raffies!

Today we are going back to Africa and we are going to enjoy some nice Matapa from Mozambique.
This is a cassava leaf stew with seafood. Obviously, finding cassava leaves is difficult for me here in Breda, but I am using my usual backup: Spinach.

For those of you who already enjoyed the West African dishes, this could be something for you!
The recipe is simple and quick to get ready:

1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp peanut oil
300 g fresh seafood (you can also have a vegetarian version, therefore optional)
150 g peanut butter
250 ml coconut milk
4 Maggi cubes
salt
pepper
500g fresh cassava leaves (or spinach)

Boil the cassava leaves with a clove of garlic. Drain and put aside.
In a skillet, sauté the onion in oil until tender, then add the seafood. Cook for a few minutes, then add the peanuts, coconut milk, salt, Maggi and pepper. Let it simmer for a few minutes and stir well in order to melt the peanut butter.
After approximately 10 minutes, add the cassava leaves and cover with a lid. When the leaves crumble apart, your Matapa is ready.

Serve with either white rice or xima (corn meal).

The dish was nice and very quick to prepare. As a big fan of spinach, I really enjoyed it. The peanut butter made the dish creamy and gave it a lovely texture. I'd like to try it with cassava leaves, though.

Love,

Raffi