Ingredients
Leaves
- 500 gblack nightshade leaves, umsobo, young and tender
- correctly identified
To cook
- water, for boiling
- salt
To finish
- 1onion, chopped
- 2 tbspoil or peanut butter
- 1tomato, optional
- salt
To serve
- with pap or phutu
- with sour milk, emasi
Directions
- Boil them and discard the first water, which is the traditional practice and which reduces both the bitterness and the alkaloids. Never eat the leaves raw in quantity.
- Pick young tender leaves and shoots rather than old tough ones, which are more bitter. Wash the leaves thoroughly in several changes of water, since they grow low and carry grit. Strip the leaves and tender shoots from any thick stems.
- Boil them for 5 minutes, then drain and discard that water. It takes out much of the bitterness and it is what generations of cooks have done.
- Rinse them and squeeze out the excess water. Now cook them a second time in fresh salted water for 10 to 15 minutes. Cook them until they are genuinely tender, since underdone nightshade leaves are unpleasantly bitter and tough.
- Drain them and chop them roughly. Fry the onion in oil until soft and golden, add the tomato if using, and stir the greens through.
- Cook them together for 5 minutes and season. Stir in a spoonful of peanut butter loosened with a little hot water.
- Taste it, and expect a distinct pleasant bitterness rather than a mild green flavour. Serve it with pap or phutu, the stiff maize porridge, as a side dish.
Technique
- Ripe black berries are eaten and unripe green ones are not.
- It is called managu in Kenya and is eaten across much of Africa.
- The first boiling water is traditionally discarded.
Substitutions
- Amaranth leaves or pumpkin leaves, cooked the same way.
- Spinach, which lacks the bitterness entirely.
Variations
- With peanut butter stirred through.
- Mixed with other gathered greens.
- Cooked plainly with only salt.
History
Gathered from field edges after rain, the leaves and dark berries are both eaten; the plant grows wild through the Nguni region.
Frequently asked questions
What is Umsobo?
Umsobo is a salad & side from Eswatini: black nightshade leaves boiled with a little salt, faintly bitter. Gathered from field edges after rain, the leaves and dark berries are both eaten; the plant grows wild through the Nguni region.
How long does Umsobo take to make?
Umsobo takes 15 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Umsobo?
Yes, within limits. Amaranth leaves or pumpkin leaves, cooked the same way. Spinach, which lacks the bitterness entirely.
What is the most important thing to get right in Umsobo?
Boil them and discard the first water, which is the traditional practice and which reduces both the bitterness and the alkaloids. Never eat the leaves raw in quantity.
