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Palm butter
Palm nut stew
Palm butter: Liberia's velvety palm-nut stew with beef, smoked fish and whole hot peppers
Sunday and holiday tables in Liberia often centre on palm butter, a thick, velvety, orange-red stew made from the pulp of boiled palm nuts and cooked down with beef, smoked fish and whole hot peppers. In Monrovia it is spooned over rice, while families upcountry often pair it with fufu or dumboy. The taste is rich, nutty and gently sweet, with smoke from the fish and slowly building heat. Canned palm nut concentrate from African grocers makes it practical at home; pounding fresh nuts is the village way. A frequent slip is boiling hard once the palm cream goes in, which splits the oil out and makes it greasy. Chef's tip: drop the peppers in whole and pierce them once; you get flavour and warmth without the stew turning fiercely hot, and you can lift them out before serving.
- Total time
- 125 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ lb beef chuck or short ribscut into 4 cm pieces
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 onionsone chopped, one sliced
- 3 garlic clovescrushed
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 7 oz smoked fishhot-smoked mackerel or African smoked catfish; bones and skin removed
- 1 ¾ lb palm nut concentratecanned; or the juice squeezed from 1.5 kg boiled, pounded fresh palm nuts
- 2 Scotch bonnet chilliesleft whole, pierced once
- cooked white rice or fufu (optional)to serve
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put the 1 ⅓ lb beef chuck or short ribs in a heavy pot with ⅝ tsp salt, the chopped 1 onions and the 3 garlic cloves. Cover and cook over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring once, so the meat steams in its own juices.
10 minStep 2: Add 500 ml of the 3 ¼ cups water, bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 45 minutes until tender.
45 minStep 3: Meanwhile, soak the 7 oz smoked fish in hot water for 10 minutes, drain and break into large flakes, discarding any bones.
10 minStep 4: Stir the 1 ¾ lb palm nut concentrate concentrate with the remaining 300 ml water until smooth and add it to the pot with the sliced 1 onions, the 2 Scotch bonnet chillies and the rest of the salt.
2 minStep 5: Simmer uncovered over a low heat for 45 minutes, stirring every 5–10 minutes and scraping the bottom, until thick like custard with a layer of red oil on top. Palm butter catches easily, so a heavy pot and a low heat are essential; a scorched base taints the whole stew.
45 minStep 6: Add the fish and simmer for 10 minutes until heated through. Lift out the peppers if you like and serve with cooked white rice or fufu.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 650 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 55 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does palm butter take?
- About 125 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 110 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 gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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