Saturday lunch at the grandparents’. Intore (African eggplant) simmered with indagara, the small dried fish of Lake Tanganyika, in a tomato and peanut sauce. On the side, pumpkin leaves finished with coconut milk. And fufu, which is always a treat for the kids.
Serves a family of five, with leftovers
Time about 45 minutes
Grown by us intore, pumpkin leaves
Intore & Indagara in Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
1 lb (about 450 g) intore (African eggplant), dicedGrown by us
A handful of indagara (dried Lake Tanganyika fish)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 to 4 large tomatoes, diced (or 1 can of tomatoes)
Boil the diced intore for about 15 minutes, longer if you like it softer. Halfway through, add the indagara: cooking them together lets the fish flavour soak into the eggplant. (You can also add the indagara later, with the onions.) Drain.
Heat a pot. When it’s hot, add the oil and the onion, and stir until lightly browned.
Add the spices, salt and pepper. We’re generous with the spices; adjust to your taste.
Add the tomatoes and cook until they break down into a paste.
Stir in the ground peanuts and cook for a few minutes.
Add the intore and indagara and stir until everything is well combined.
Add the water and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the peanuts are cooked. Let it rest a few minutes before serving.
Where to find indagara: sold dried in African grocery stores. Intore is in season with us from summer to early fall.
Creamy Pumpkin Leaves
Preparing pumpkin leaves. The stems and the backs of the leaves have a tough, fuzzy outer skin that needs to come off. Snap the stem just below the leaf and pull: the skin peels away in strings. Peel the larger leaves the same way, rinse, then roll them up and chop finely.
Ingredients
1 large bunch of pumpkin leaves, prepared and choppedGrown by us
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 to 4 large tomatoes, diced (or 1 can of tomatoes)
Boil the chopped leaves and take them off the heat as soon as the water boils. They will finish cooking in the sauce. Drain. They shrink a lot, so don’t be shy with the quantity.
Heat a pot, add the oil and the onion, and stir until lightly browned. Add the spices, salt and pepper.
Add the tomatoes and cook until they break down into a paste.
Add the leaves and stir to combine.
Add the coconut milk or cream and simmer until you’re happy with the texture. Without it, the dish is still delicious.
To serve
Serve with fufu (we used corn flour this time; cassava flour works too), rice, or any starch you like. The pumpkin leaves also make a dish of their own.
In the pot
Onions, lightly brownedGround peanuts into the tomato pasteIntore and indagara go inPumpkin leaves, boiled and drainedPumpkin leaves with coconut milk
