Cacana

Ingredients

Greens

• 600 gcacana leaves, the young leaves and shoots of the bitter vine
• or 600 g bitter greens as a substitute

Base

• 1onion, chopped
• 3 clovesgarlic
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tbspoil

Enriching

• 400 mlcoconut milk
• or 100 g ground roasted peanuts, loosened with water

Also

• 1chilli, optional
• salt

To serve

• with xima, the maize porridge
• or with rice, alongside fish or chicken

Directions

1. Pick the young leaves and tender shoot tips, discarding tough stems and old leaves. Wash them thoroughly in several changes of water.
2. Chop them fairly finely, or pound them lightly in a mortar. Chopping fine helps them cook evenly and take up the sauce. Fry the onion in oil until soft, then add the garlic. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down for five to eight minutes.
3. Cook the tomatoes down properly, since a watery base gives a thin dish. Add the chopped cacana and a little water and cook for ten minutes until wilted and softened.
4. Use very little water, since the greens release their own and the dish should be thick. Now the coconut milk, if using it. Add the coconut milk and bring it back only to a gentle simmer. Never let coconut milk boil hard, since it splits into oil and curds and cannot be brought back.
5. Simmer gently for fifteen to twenty minutes until it thickens and the greens are completely tender. Now the groundnut version, if making that instead. Simmer for twenty minutes after it goes in, until the oil separates and rises. Undercooked groundnut tastes raw and chalky, and that separation is the signal it is done.
6. Stir regularly, since peanut catches readily. Now the consistency it should reach. Season with salt and add a chilli if you want heat. Taste it: it should be bitter, rich and savoury at once, with the bitterness clearly present.
7. Serve it with xima, the Mozambican stiff maize porridge, which is pinched off and used to scoop. It keeps two days refrigerated and it is better the next day.

Technique

• The bitterness is prized rather than something to remove.
• Coconut milk is coastal and groundnut is inland, and both are traditional.
• Peanut paste must be loosened with water before it goes in the pot.

Substitutions

• Bitter melon leaves, or another bitter green such as dandelion.
• Peanut butter in place of freshly ground peanuts.

Variations

• Made with groundnut rather than coconut.
• With dried shrimp or smoked fish added.
• Made hotter, with piri piri.

History

A southern Mozambican green whose bitterness is prized, and which Maputo families insist tastes of home.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cacana?

Cacana is a salad & side from Mozambique: bitter vine leaves cooked with coconut milk or groundnut as relish. A southern Mozambican green whose bitterness is prized, and which Maputo families insist tastes of home.

How long does Cacana take to make?

Cacana takes 20 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings as a side. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Cacana?

Yes, within limits. Bitter melon leaves, or another bitter green such as dandelion. Peanut butter in place of freshly ground peanuts.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cacana?

Use very little water, since the greens release their own and the dish should be thick. Now the coconut milk, if using it. Add the coconut milk and bring it back only to a gentle simmer. Never let coconut milk boil hard, since it splits into oil and curds and cannot be brought back.