Mafe (Meat in Ground Peanuts Stew)

(Photo Attributed to Author: Rezwalker)

Mafe (Meat in Ground Peanuts Stew) Recipe-

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lb. lean stewing beef, cut into bite-sized cubes (Beef Eye Round Roast is a good choice for this dish)
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped fine
6 to 8 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. freshly ground ginger root
1 Scotch Bonnet chili pepper, seeded and minced (Note: if you want really hot & spicy, leave the seeds in)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups peeled, seeded and rough chopped tomatoes
1 to 2 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
1 cup all natural, unsalted, creamy peanut butter (Note: almost all prepared peanut butter has some salt in it. Just use peanut butter with 1% or less salt, and you will be fine)
Freshly ground coarse sea salt and black peppercorns
Optional: chopped vegetables of your choice, such as eggplant, yam, okra, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, squash, etc.

Directions:

In a large cooking pot over medium-high heat, heat up the oil.
Add in the cubed beef and sauté, stirring, until lightly browned on all sides. About 5 or 6 minutes should do the trick, then remove from pot and set aside in bowl.
Now add the onion into the oil, and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until fragrant and translucent. Next, stir in the ginger and garlic and sauté another 2 minutes.
Now return the browned beef cubes to the pot, add in the tomato paste, stir everything well, and cook for about one minute.
Next, add in the chopped tomatoes, stir together well again, and bring the heat up to a rolling boil.
Turn the heat down to where the dish is cooking at just a lively simmer, and cook for 9 or 10 minutes—until the tomatoes have reduced some.
Add in enough stock to where the Mafe takes on the consistency of a stew, then simmer for another 10 to 12 minutes. Note: if you are going to add in vegetables, at this step is where you would add in those that require longer cooking time to become tender, like potatoes, yams, carrots, eggplant.
Now add in the peanut butter, minced chili, and salt and pepper (to taste) and simmer for another 45 minutes, or until the beef is nice and tender. As the stew becomes well cooked, the oil will rise to the top. You can skim it off, or some people like to leave the oil on their Mafe.
During the 45 minutes of simmer-cooking, you may need to add in water or more broth, if it gets too thick. Also add in any vegetables you want that require less cooking time as the stew approaches being fully cooked.
This authentic Senegalese Mafe is traditionally served over couscous or rice.