Mafe (Senegalese Beef Stew)

Submitted by Chef Kate

"This traditional stew, with peanuts (groundnuts) can also be made with lamb, chicken or just vegetables. The amount and heat of the peppers you use can be varied to suit your palate."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 25mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups stock (your choice, preferably unsalted)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup green bell pepper, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 cayenne pepper, seeded and chopped (or other or more)
• 1 cup carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 lbs beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1 and 1/2-inch cubes
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups tomatoes, peeled and diced (or one 14 and 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes with liquid)
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 bay leaf

directions

1. Whisk together peanut butter and stock and reserve.
2. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
4. Brown the meat well on all sides; do not crowd the meat; saute in batches if necessary.
5. Remove meat and keep warm.
6. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, and carrots to the pan and saute until the onions are translucent.
7. Add the peanut butter and broth mixture, scraping all the brown bits up from the bottom and sides of the pan.
8. Return the reserved meat (and any juices) to the pan with the tomatoes and their liquid, the thyme and bay leaf.
9. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, for about 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
10. Taste for seasoning.
11. Remove the thyme sprig and the bay leaf and discard.
12. Serve hot over rice.

Reviews

[Jonathan Melendez]

I've never heard of this stew before but I was curious to try it. I liked the flavor that the peanut butter gave it. Served it along with some rice as recommended and it was great! Very tasty!

 

[lecole54]

For many years I have been making a groundnut chicken stew that a friend brought back from Niger, where he served in the Peace Corps (http://www.food.com/recipe/peanut-chicken-from-niger-390062). I thought it might be fun to try another groundnut stew, this time with beef, and from Senegal rather than Niger. I used only 1-1/2 pounds of beef, and substituted two serrano peppers -- with seeds/ribs -- to get the right amount of heat for us (quite spicy but not "blow the top of your head off hot"). This version was delicious: not as tomato-y as the one I'd been making, but with more veggies, which was a nice variation on the theme. I served it over brown rice with a spinach salad on the side. Will certainly make it again!

 

[Mike L.]

I served as a Peace Corps volunteer for 2.5 years in Senegal, ate mafe once or twice a week... This isn't a traditional mafe recipe... It's missing quite a lot.

 

[chanceosunshine]

The end result of this stew was really good, but I did have to play with it at the end to get it to what we consider as "really good". I started with the following changes to the recipe because it's what I had- I used 1 lb of venison stew meat and 8 oz of mushrooms (to help make up the difference). I used dried thyme because I had no fresh, used thai peppers because I didn't have cayenne. I ground peanuts to make peanut butter. I browned my venison and used my pressure cooker (15 minutes) and used the broth it made for the broth. So, once I put this altogether and let it cook for an hour, I though it was "just ok", like it was missing something. So, I went looking for other versions of this recipe. What I found lead me to add some fresh grated ginger and some fresh cilantro (sprinkled on the bowls). It brought it right up to where we really enjoyed it and I will make it again. I served it with some brown rice and a few peanuts, as well as the cilantro, sprinkled on top.

 

[cam12]

This recipe is exactly what I have been looking for. A teacher's aide at my daughter's school was from Senegal and made this when they were studing African culture. I always use chicken and it is delicious!