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Ndolé with peanuts and greens
Cameroon's national dish of bitter leaf and peanut sauce, vegetarian
Ndolé comes from the Douala coast and is Cameroon's national dish, cooked for Sunday lunches, weddings and funerals: bitter leaves washed until only a gentle bitterness remains, simmered in a thick sauce of boiled, ground peanuts. Traditionally it is finished with beef, smoked fish and prawns; this version keeps the greens and peanuts at the centre and tops it with crisp fried onions, the way Douala cooks always do. Serve with boiled plantain, miondo or rice. As a variation, add prawns or beef the traditional way. Chef's tip: use raw peanuts, boiled and ground, not peanut butter; ndolé should be nubbly and pale, not like a smooth satay sauce.
- Total time
- 110 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the peanuts
For the greens
For the topping
To serve
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Put 14 oz raw skinned peanuts in a pan with 1 litre water and boil for 20 minutes, until soft enough to crush with your fingers. Drain, keeping 300 ml of the water.
20 minStep 2: Blend the peanuts with the reserved water to a thick, slightly grainy paste, like wet sand rather than butter.
Step 3: If using 10 ½ oz washed bitter leaf (ndolé), frozen or dried and soaked, squeeze it out and rinse once more; taste a leaf — a little bitterness is right. If using kale and spinach, shred them finely and blanch for 2 minutes, then squeeze dry.
5 minStep 4: Blend 4 cloves garlic, ⅔ oz fresh ginger and 1 onion to a smooth paste with a splash of water.
Step 5: Warm 4 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil in a large pot over a medium heat and fry the onion paste for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until it stops smelling raw and turns pale gold.
8 minStep 6: Add the peanut paste, 1 ¾ cups vegetable stock, 1 scotch bonnet and 1 ½ tsp salt. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring often from the bottom, until a thin layer of oil rises and the sauce looks curdled and creamy. Common mistake: high heat — ground peanuts stick and burn in minutes.
20 minStep 7: Stir in the greens and simmer for 15 minutes more, until thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a clear path.
15 minStep 8: In a frying pan, heat 4 tbsp oil over a medium-high heat and fry 2 onions for 8–10 minutes until deep golden and starting to crisp. Spoon the onions and their oil over the ndolé.
10 minStep 9: Serve hot with 4 ripe-but-firm plantains.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 590 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 36 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ndolé with peanuts and greens take?
- About 110 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
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