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Admin
May
15
African Kale, Pineapple and Peanut Stew
May 15, 2008 |
West Africa has greatly influenced American language, culture and cuisine.
Many Americans are of Senegalese, Gambian, Ghanaian and Ivorian ancestry.
Some elements of their cultural heritage are now part of the American mainstream - words like ‘wow’, ‘bambi’, ‘okra’, dishes like ‘gumbo’, staples like rice and peanuts.
Wow means “yes” in the Wolof language of Senegal and the Gambia. And Bambi is a Central African Bantu word for antelope.
The word okra comes from Akan and gombo is Bantu for the vegetable that is the key ingredient in the Louisiana stew called redundantly okra gumbo. And the rice that so enriched planters that it was called “Carolina Gold” came to the United States from the banks of the Niger River and the Atlantic shores of Senegambia. (Source)
Peanuts (also called groundnut, earthnut or goober) were brought to Virginia via Africa and extensively cultivated there.
Peanut butter is as American as apple pie, and Americans consume around six pounds of peanuts per capita a year. West African cuisine has used peanut butter in meat and vegetable stews since ancient times. Peanut stew is called Mafé by the Wolof people of Gambia and Senegal, and Nketie Wonu in Ghana.
Like okra gumbo, stew thickened with peanuts is part of the celebration meal at Kwanzaa - the African American cultural holiday. It is a dish that can be easily adapted for carnivores or herbivores.
This vegan version from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home uses two of our favourites - pineapple and kale.
It is a really kid-friendly dish that will be gobbled up without any complaints. The sweetness from the peanut butter and pineapple offsets the greens very nicely and results in a deliciously complex medley of flavours. In fact, this stew is a really friendly way to introduce bitter greens to those who don’t usually like them.
This stew absorbs a lot of greens. If you don’t like fruit-based stews, the pineapple can be easily replaced with baby corn, bell peppers or other veggies. This is a very adaptable, forgiving recipe, and took us about 20 minutes to put together.
What attracted us to this dish in the first place was the use of kale. It has large leaves that are easy to wash and chop up, a benign neutral flavour, and is one of the most nutrient-rich foods available.
Kale
In Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat to Live, where he examines various foods for nutrient density, kale tops the list of 20,000 foods in terms of the concentration of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.
It is rich in antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin C and manganese. It is also a very good source of dietary fiber, copper, calcium, vitamin B6 and potassium. One cup of cooked kale has ten times (1327.6%) the recommended daily value of Vitamin K, which is vital for calcium absorption.
Kale is not a highly allergenic food, nor does it contain any saturated fat. A cup of kale supplies 93.6 mg of calcium (9.4% of the daily value for this mineral) for only 36.4 calories.
(Nutrition data for kale HERE)
Kale is low in oxalates (as compared to other greens) and according to this study the calcium absorbed from it is 40.9%, compared with 32.1% from milk.
(See our CALCIUM Q & A for more information on oxalates and calcium absorption.)
To make this stew more calcium-rich:
1. Add a handful of cooked chickpeas
2 Replace the peanut butter with almond butter (almond has a higher calcium content)
Any greens, especially bitter ones, will work in this recipe. Any combo of veggies will work as well.
For a spicy, fragrant twist, add 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste.
Buy organic nut butter with only two ingredients - nuts and salt. Or make your own.
It takes just a couple of minutes.
AFRICAN KALE, PINEAPPLE and PEANUT STEW
from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home
(original recipe here)
Clean kale (or green of choice), remove thick stems and chop into 1 inch pieces - total 4 to 5 lightly packed cups.
Heat
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Add
1 cup chopped red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
Cook on medium until the onions are lightly browned - 5 to 6 minutes.
Add
one 20-oz can (about 2 cups) crushed pineapple with juice
Bring to a simmer.
Add the chopped greens
Simmer until soft (about 5 minutes).
Add
1/2 cup organic smooth peanut (or almond) butter
1 tablespoon hot sauce (like Frank’s Red Hot, Sriracha or Tabasco)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt to taste.
Simmer for 2 or 3 more minutes.
**We like to add 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste. In that case, reduce the hot sauce by 1/2 tbsp.
Top with
lightly roasted peanuts and
chopped spring onions.
We love it with brown or Rose matta rice.
VERDICT: Absolutely delicious. We finished almost all of it in one sitting. We will be preparing this again - with bitter greens like mustard, arugula, dandelion greens, or fenugreek.
African Kale, Pineapple and Peanut Stew is our entry for the Beautiful Bones event hosted by dear Susan @ FoodBlogga.
- The Jugalbandits
Related posts
Africa, calcium, Cilantro/Coriander-Leaves, Kale, Kwanzaa, NUTRITION, Onion/Shallot, Peanut/Groundnut, Pineapple, Spring-Onions/Scallions, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes
Ginger Beans-(Dried) Lentils Spices Jaggery competition vegan recipes Peanut/Groundnut Rice Dairy/Cheese GARDENING PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO ESSAYS Almond Onion/Shallot Coconut Peas POSTCARDS Pumpkin/Squash TRAVEL POLITICS Wheat MUSINGS BOOKS CLICK---the-photo-event Curry leaves Grains Flour contest Eggs Lemon/Lime vegetarian recipes Beans Chillies/Peppers NUTRITION Flours food-photography India dairy Cilantro/Coriander-Leaves Garlic lifestyle Chilli Potato Tomato
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The stew looks delicious, the brown color form the peanut butter looks yummy in the dish. I have never had pineapple in a savory dish but you guys have posted many such combo’s that I am inclined to try it out once. And Sig might be happy by the mention, but Dr. Fuhrman might not like you renaming his book
The name caught my mind in your previous post 
he should change the name. ‘live to eat’ is easier to remember.
This looks absolutely amazing. I have half a mind to make it tonight. Thank you for the linguistic history as well–I love learning that kind of thing. I notice you mentioned making it with fenugreek. Are you able to find fresh fenugreek? I have only ever found it dried in the U.S., and would love to use fresh if I could find it somewhere.
you can buy it frozen. you can also grow it quite easily at home. http://jugalbandi.info/2007/03/its-time-to-grow-beautiful-things/
Hello Bee and Jai,
Heartfelt thanks to you for this outstanding post and fabulous recipe. I was surprised to learn about oxalates (esp in spinach) when I started researching this topic. You’re providing your readers with such important information.
I make a similar kale dish with peanuts, onions, and honey, but I’ll be adding pineapple next time for sure. Your pic is gorgeous!
Cheers,
Susan
I have an ingredient you would be interested in - quinoa!
Regards.
yes. Quinoa is special in that it is Low GI ( http://jugalbandi.info/2008/02/glycemic-index/ ) and a good source of protein ( http://jugalbandi.info/2008/03/plant-protein-q-a/ )
Gorgeous dish!! Not necessarily ingredients I would have thought to put together, but it sounds delicious. I love pineapple and peanut butter in savory things, so this is totally awesome!
The stew looks rich and filling… Never thought to marry peanut butter, pineapple and greens… But the outcome is inviting.
So many familiar things. Moosewood books are fabulous. Eat-2-Live is what pushed me to be an on-and-off vegan. Kale, to me, is a little bland. Pineapple should take care of it.
This sounds like a wonderful combination. I haven’t had kale that much, but I do have some just coming up in my garden so I’m hoping to experiment with it a lot more.
the greens & nut butter with pineapple combo sounds yum
Greens + Pineapple + Peanuts = unusual yet yummy combo for me..:D. the first time I heard about a ‘Gumbo’ recipe was from Emeril Live. He loves to make gumbos all the time..:)
Siri
Bee, thanks for this beautiful and informative post! Never tried Kale!
the stew is delcious JB!!!such a cool presenattion too!!loved it:)
Thats an interesting medley… does the pineapple make the stew sweet?
yes.
wow, that’s a wonderful combination. looks so delicious and the post is so informative as usual.
i would never think of combining pineapple with peanut..wow you guys never cease to amaze..this stew looks so tempting yummy
Ahh…beautiful!…
and finally you have accepted the jugalbandits!..hehehhe..
hey what happened to those smiley’s??
hey Bee stew luks so tempting and delicious.. loved the serving bowlnice one:)
Great looking stew, looks good and great post about peanuts/Goober etc. They grow loads of Goobers in Georgia!:D
Have a safe and peaceful weekend Jugs!:)
Live to eat’ is definitely easier to remember, the reason I took notice of the books’ title was I had to pause to get it right :)) I chked the labels on the two different brands of tofu I have in the fridge both have either MgCl2 or nigari in their ingredients list!
Wow..great pics jugs. Btw..what did u do with last picture?
I am yet to try kale.
ran a couple of photoshop actions on it.
Great pics, as usual, guys! I love the last pic.
EWS, our local Indian store sells fresh fenugreek greens..so you might want to try there. Good luck!
Eat to live was one of the first books of weight loss that changed my perspective of good vs bad food , i make kale the same way with coconut milk and peanuts , minus the pinapple.. shoudl try this version bee, surprisingly I like pineapple gojju and pineapple fried rice.. Im hoping to like this too
Thankyou for the recipe !
This recipe is going to be interesting..I love the unusual flavors here. I am going to try some cashew butter in this one instead of the peanuts.
sounds like a wonderful combination guys! and healthy too..thanks for sharing, I think I’ll be trying this with some other greens!:)
great combination of flavours - once of the most interesting kale stews I have seen!
I didnt know the origin of WOW! Thanks for that bit of trivia. The dish looks like a delicious combination of flavours and since I dont get kale here will try it with methi or mustard - but wont have that lovely appearance!
I like pineapple in savoury dishes… not sure if the hub does… this is nice.
Wonderful post, delicious stew and soooooo informative! Now I know why Bambi was called bambi!!!!!
After all these years and finally I know the real meaning! I love when these things happen?. You can call me silly if you want, but I love to learn these stupid little things 
So much infomation and a lovely treat….. I love visiting your site…. its always full of lovely snaps and nice infomation and facts…..and Wow! that stew looks so nice, rich and filling. And i simply love the combination, its irresistable…Iam sure my hubby is gonna love this stew…. will try it soon…:) Thanx for the lovely recipe bee…
Do check my blog too when u get time..:)
Wow! How did I miss this one when it was first posted?! Looks and sounds tempting, and terribly nutritious as well. Plus an education to boot- where do you people find this stuff?! :-D
Wow! What an amazing dish. I Love kale in all forms..this sounds perfect. * Added to the list of stews to be made asap.*