Ingredients
Greens
- 500 gcowpea leaves, or sweet potato leaves or spinach
- 200 gfresh bean leaves, if available
Meat
- 600 gbeef, cut in chunks, or dried fish
- salt
Base
- 3 tbspgroundnut oil
- 2onions, finely chopped
- 4garlic cloves, crushed
- 2tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbsptomato puree
Peanut
- 150 gsmooth peanut butter, unsweetened
- or 200 g roasted groundnuts, pounded to a paste
Seasoning
- 2 tbspground dried crayfish or dried fish powder
- 1hot chilli, chopped
- 1stock cube
- salt and pepper
To serve
- couscous, steamed
Directions
- Strip the leaves from any thick stems and discard the stems. Wash them thoroughly in several changes of water, since they carry grit. Put the washed leaves into a mortar in batches. Pound them until they break down into a coarse dark green mass. A food processor pulsed briefly will do it if you have no mortar.
- Season the beef chunks with salt on all sides. Warm the groundnut oil in a heavy pot over a medium-high heat. Brown the meat in batches, giving it four minutes a side. Lift the browned meat out and set it aside on a plate.
- Add the chopped onions and cook them for eight minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook it for another minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato puree. Cook them down for five minutes into a thick base. Return the meat to the pot with any juices from the plate. Add water to cover, along with the stock cube and the chilli.
- Bring it to a simmer, cover it, and cook it for forty-five minutes. The meat should be tender enough to give under a fork. Stir it into a smooth paste before it goes into the pot. Adding it straight in makes lumps that never disperse.
- Stir the loosened peanut into the pot and combine it thoroughly. Simmer it uncovered for ten minutes so it thickens and the oil rises. Stir the pounded leaves into the pot. Add the ground crayfish or dried fish powder at the same time. Cook it for twenty minutes, stirring often so it does not catch. The sauce should thicken and darken as the leaves break down.
- Add hot water if it has gone too stiff to spoon. Cook it uncovered a little longer if it is still loose. Taste it and adjust the salt, since peanut absorbs a great deal. Now serving, which is done over steamed couscous.
- Mound the couscous on a wide shared platter. Make a well in the centre with the back of a spoon. Ladle the sauce and the meat into the well. Serve it hot, since the peanut sauce stiffens as it cools.
Technique
- Pound the leaves rather than chopping them, which is what gives the sauce its texture.
- Loosen the peanut butter with hot liquid first, since added dry it makes lumps.
- Taste for salt at the end, as peanut absorbs a great deal of it.
Substitutions
- Sweet potato leaves or spinach in place of cowpea and bean leaves.
- Dried fish in place of beef, which is common along the river.
Variations
- Made with dried fish instead of meat.
- Served over rice rather than couscous.
- With okra added for extra body.
History
A dish of the Halpulaar and Soninke communities of the Senegal river valley in southern Mauritania.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hakko?
Hakko is a soup & stew from Mauritania: sauce of pounded bean and cowpea leaves with peanut and meat, served over couscous. A dish of the Halpulaar and Soninke communities of the Senegal river valley in southern Mauritania.
How long does Hakko take to make?
Hakko takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hour 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Hakko?
Yes, within limits. Sweet potato leaves or spinach in place of cowpea and bean leaves. Dried fish in place of beef, which is common along the river.
What is the most important thing to get right in Hakko?
Bring it to a simmer, cover it, and cook it for forty-five minutes. The meat should be tender enough to give under a fork. Stir it into a smooth paste before it goes into the pot. Adding it straight in makes lumps that never disperse.
