Desayuno

On my first day in Dakar I had yassa, a Senegalese onion and lemon sauce, and I knew I was going to be enjoying the food for my whole stay. But it would be two more weeks before I was to taste what became my favorite Senegalese dish. A neighbor invited Teresa and me to lunch, and she served maffe.

I can’t offer you a place around the platter at Bintu’s house, but if you want maffe I do have some advice: From the Dakar airport, negotiate for a taxi ride to Yoff (You should offer 1000CFA, but you might not get better than 1500 from the airport.). When the driver makes a left turn off the main road, tell him to continue straight ahead. If it’s Tuesday, the street will be closed for the market, and you can just get out there and walk. The market is worth seeing. If it’s any other day, have the driver stop when you see a little white building on the right with “Saf Sap” painted on the wall. If it is lunch or dinner time, the door will be open. If not, the beach is only a few hundred meters further. Enjoy youself, and come back in a little while. They make two dishes a day, and one of them is usually maffe. It will cost 300CFA for a plate. Bring a container with you if you want takeout.

If you don’t plan on being in Dakar any time soon, you can make a very good version of it yourself, though it will cost more than 300CFA. But remember how to get to Saf Sap. After all, you never know. I didn’t plan on being in Dakar either.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lamb or beef (I used a mix). If its too lean, it will get tough.
• 2 large onions
• 2 large potatoes
• 1 habanero chili or cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 bunch fresh thyme (tied)
• 4-6 small turnips
• 1 cup peanut butter (natural)
• 3 cups beef stock

Cut the meat into roughly one-inch pieces and set aside. Dice the onions into 1/2 inch pieces. Brown the meat in a small amount of oil in three batches over medium-high heat, removing it to a bowl as you go. Leave the heat on, and add a little more oil to the pan and all the onions. Stir the onions to scrape up all the bits the meat left in the pan.

 

When the bottom of the pan is clean, add the meat back, along with the stock and the tomato paste. Turn the heat to high until bubbles just start to form, and then turn it down to low to simmer. Add the thyme and let simmer uncovered until the meat is tender. This will take a while, an hour at the least. Don’t turn up the heat. You don’t want it to boil. Remove the thyme after 30 minutes.

Cut the potatoes unto large chunks, and quarter the turnips. Add them to the pot with the chili (or the cayenne) and cover until the vegetables are tender. It will take about 30 minutes. This is a good time to start some rice.

Mix the peanut butter with a cup of the liquid from the pot until it makes a smooth emulsion, and then add this back into the pot and cook for five to ten minutes more.

Serve over rice and enjoy. For a drink, you can’t go wrong pairing maffe with bissap.

Posted by Tom