Cassava leaf

Ingredients

Leaves

• 1 kgfresh young cassava leaves, stems removed, or 750 g frozen pounded cassava leaf
• 1 litrewater

Stew

• 500 gbeef chuck or goat, cut into 3 cm cubes
• 300 gsmoked dried fish (bonga or catfish), soaked, boned and flaked
• 150 gdried or smoked shrimp, rinsed
• 250 mlred palm oil
• 2large onions, finely chopped
• 3habanero or country peppers, whole or chopped to taste
• 1 tbspfine salt
• 1Maggi or bouillon cube, as used in every Liberian kitchen
• 500 mlhot water or the fish soaking liquid

To serve

• 600 glong-grain rice, steamed
• Sliced onion and extra pepper

Directions

1. Strip the leaves from the stems and wash them in three changes of water. Pound them in a heavy mortar, in batches, for 10–15 minutes each, until they break down into a fine, dark, almost pesto-like mass with no recognisable leaf pieces.
2. Bring 1 litre of water to the boil, add the pounded leaf and boil hard, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring often. This step is not about tenderness: boiling drives off the cyanogenic compounds that raw cassava leaf carries.
3. Meanwhile, season the beef with salt and the crushed bouillon cube and simmer it in 500 ml water in a separate pot for 30 minutes until it releases its juices and starts to soften.
4. Add the beef and its broth, the flaked smoked fish and the dried shrimp to the pot of leaves. Stir well and simmer 20 minutes.
5. Pour in the red palm oil in a steady stream and add the chopped onion and the peppers. Do not stir the oil in all at once; let it float and then work it through.
6. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 60–90 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and scraping the base. The stew is ready when the palm oil rises and pools in a clear orange-red layer on the surface and the leaf has gone from grassy green to deep olive-brown.
7. Taste and correct with salt and more pepper. The finished sauce should be thick enough that a spoon dragged through it leaves a track that closes slowly.
8. Serve in a deep bowl over plenty of hot white rice, with the palm oil visibly separated on top, which is how a Liberian cook signals the dish is properly done.

Technique

• Cassava leaves must be pounded and then boiled thoroughly. Raw or lightly cooked leaves contain linamarin, which releases hydrogen cyanide. Twenty minutes of hard boiling in an open pot is the traditional and effective safeguard.
• Red palm oil, not refined palm oil, is essential. It is deep orange, smells of carrot and violets, and gives the dish its colour and body. Bleached palm oil gives nothing.
• The long, slow cook is what turns cassava leaf from bitter and thin to rich and sweet. Liberians judge the dish by how long it has sat on the fire.
• Smoked fish and dried shrimp are seasonings here, not garnish; they supply the savoury depth that carries the whole pot.

Substitutions

• Frozen pounded cassava leaf from an African grocer is what most Liberians abroad use: it is already ground, so start at the boiling step.
• No smoked bonga: use smoked mackerel plus 1 tbsp dried shrimp powder.
• Chicken or dried meat can replace the beef; the technique is unchanged.

Variations

• Palava sauce, the closely related Ghanaian and Sierra Leonean version.
• A version made with chicken feet and pigs’ feet, prized for the gelatinous body they give.
• Cassava leaf cooked without pepper for children, with the chillies served whole on the side.

History

Cassava leaves are pounded fine and cooked for hours with palm oil and smoked fish; the dish is claimed as a national dish alongside palm butter.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cassava leaf?

Cassava leaf is a soup & stew from Liberia: finely pounded cassava leaves with palm oil, meat and dried fish. Cassava leaves are pounded fine and cooked for hours with palm oil and smoked fish; the dish is claimed as a national dish alongside palm butter.

How long does Cassava leaf take to make?

Cassava leaf takes 40 min of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Cassava leaf?

Yes, within limits. Frozen pounded cassava leaf from an African grocer is what most Liberians abroad use: it is already ground, so start at the boiling step. No smoked bonga: use smoked mackerel plus 1 tbsp dried shrimp powder. Chicken or dried meat can replace the beef; the technique is unchanged.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cassava leaf?

Pour in the red palm oil in a steady stream and add the chopped onion and the peppers. Do not stir the oil in all at once; let it float and then work it through.