This recipe is a variation of one I know and love from my childhood: Légumes du village sautés – which means " vegetables from the village" – or in some regions of Cameroon, Njamanjama . Légumes du village refers to the leaves of Solanum nigrum , also known as black nightshade , from the nightshade family. The leaves are slightly bitter when raw. Before cooking, they must first be finely/coarsely chopped and washed with boiling water to reduce the bitterness.
Njapche in my region . Anyone familiar with Cameroon always associates the Bamun (my tribe) with Pèhn-Njapche black nightshade leaves with cornmeal fufu as a side dish. Bamun Njapche usually prepared with egusi. First, the prepared leafy greens are sautéed in oil with onions and spices, then water is added. As soon as it starts to simmer, the egusi paste is added and left to simmer gently. Meat or fish can also be added. This is how Bamun Njapche is most often cooked.
My favorite way to prepare this wonderful leafy green is even simpler and tastes the best to me. Since I couldn't find (Solanum nigrum) , I opted for spinach to make the recipe. The flavor isn't as intense as with black nightshade, but it's still delicious. This recipe requires only a few ingredients, and the result is both visually appealing and tasty.
Sautéed spinach with sliced beef and steamed yellow plantains
Ingredients
- 500g of thawed spinach
- 500g of sliced beef
- 6 medium-sized tomatoes
- 2 medium-sized onions
- 20 g Manjanga (dried crayfish)
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 100 ml cooking oil
- Salt
- 1 tsp meat spices
- 2 Yellow Plantains
Instructions
- First, let the spinach thaw and squeeze out as much water as possible.
- Wash the tomatoes, dice them finely, and set them aside. Then finely chop the onions.
- In a pot, add cooking oil, then onions, garlic paste, and salt. Sauté for about 2 minutes.
- Add the sliced beef and meat seasoning, mix well and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel the plantains, cut them into four pieces each and steam them for about 15 minutes.
- Now add the diced tomatoes to the meat, mix well and cook for another 5 minutes until very tender.
- Then add the spinach – add more oil if needed, the Manjanga (optional) and Magic Sauce, mix well and simmer covered for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the cooked plantains from the oven and serve with the delicious "Lègumes du village" and enjoy
