Vegan
Gluten freeChibwabwa
Pumpkin leaves with groundnuts
Chibwabwa: Zambian pumpkin leaves with tomato and pounded groundnuts
From December to March, when pumpkin vines sprawl over every compound fence in Lusaka and the Copperbelt, chibwabwa is on the table almost daily as a relish for nshima. The tender leaves and shoots are stripped of their hairy outer fibres, cooked down until silky and finished with tomato, onion and freshly pounded groundnuts, which thicken the juices into a creamy, nutty sauce. The taste is green and mildly sweet, closer to young spinach than to pumpkin itself. Look for pumpkin leaves at African or South Asian grocers; spinach mixed with a little chard is a fair stand-in. Skipping the peeling is the mistake people make, and it leaves the stems stringy and prickly. Chef's tip: add the groundnut powder only at the end and simmer it gently, or it sinks and scorches.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 130 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb pumpkin leaves and tender shootsor spinach with a little chard
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch bicarbonate of soda
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 2 tomatoesfinely chopped
- 2 ⅛ oz ground raw peanutsgroundnut flour, or raw peanuts pounded to a fine powder
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Snap each pumpkin stem near the top and pull the strings down its length, peeling the stems and leaf backs of 1 ⅛ lb pumpkin leaves and tender shoots the way you would de-string celery.
Step 2: Rinse the leaves well, then roll them up in bundles and slice them into 1 cm ribbons.
Step 3: Bring ¾ cup water to the boil in a wide pan over a high heat with 1 tsp salt and 1 pinch bicarbonate of soda, which keeps the leaves bright green.
2 minStep 4: Add the leaves, cover and cook over a medium heat, stirring once or twice, until they are fully wilted and tender, with no squeak when you bite a stem.
7 minStep 6: Mix 2 ⅛ oz ground raw peanuts with a few spoonfuls of the hot pan juices to a paste, then stir it through the leaves.
Step 7: Simmer gently over a low heat, stirring, until the sauce thickens, turns creamy and loses its raw peanut taste.
5 minStep 8: Taste for salt and serve hot with nshima.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 130 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chibwabwa take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- 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 bicarbonate of soda?
- Baking powder, three times the amount (the bake may taste slightly different).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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