Many moons ago, the Army sent me to Ghana for three months (this is me getting on the plane to go home: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6604120). While there, aside from doing Army things, I got a chance to explore a bit of the local cuisine. So when we were pondering our weekly menus recently, I suggested a groundnut (i.e. peanut) stew, sort of like what I vaguely remember having had while there.
This is what we came up with. It’s unlikely to be particularly authentic (whatever that means for such a common dish), and we made plantain hotcakes (recipe below) rather than fufu to eat it with.
- 1 white onion
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
- Finger of ginger
- 4 cloves garlic
- Large can whole tomatoes (in juice)
- Can tomato paste
- 2 jalapeños
- 2 habañero peppers
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 tbsp Better than Boullion (or similar)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup water
Throw it all into a big pot and cook. Onions first, then aromatics and hot peppers, then everything except bell peppers and peanut butter until the sweet potatoes are done, then the rest. Season to taste, obviously. Add more hot peppers if you really like the spice.
For the plantain hotcakes:
- 4 plantains
- Salt
Without peeling, slice the plantain into rounds (2-3″ lengths). Boil until the peels slide off. Toss the peels into the compost and put the rest into a food processor with salt to taste and maybe a little water for texture. Blend until uniform and sticky. Roll or pat 2-4″ balls until they’re as flat as you like them (think thick tortillas). Cook on a hot griddle like tortillas or pancakes until done.
Lightweights, nota bene: this has some heat.