Passport & Plate - Mafe
Peru | Tuesday, February 3, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
Oil -- 2 tablespoons
Stewing beef-- 1 kilo
Onion -- 1
Garlic, minced -- 3 to 6 cloves
Tomato paste -- 2 tablespoons
Tomatoes -- 4
Water
Natural, unsalted peanut butter -- 2 cup
Salt and pepper -- to taste
Carrots- 5
potato - 6
cabbage - half a kilo
How to prepare this recipeHeat the oil in a large pot over medium-high flame. Add the beef and cooked for 5-6 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
Add the onion to the oil in the pot and cooked until is clear, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cooked for another 1-2 minutes.
Return the beef to the pot, stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8-10 minutes to reduce the volume of the tomatoes.
Add enough water so it wont burn.
Add the vegetables.
Stir in the peanut butter, salt and pepper and cook for another 40 minutes, or until the beef is tender.
Add water as necessary. Adjust seasoning and serve over rice.
The story behind this recipeI did a Work and Travel Program in Stevens Point Wisconsin and ended living a family that use to be missionaries in Senegal. This family became my second family. They visit me in Peru as well and I have visited them 2 more times in USA. Anyways, for my new brother's birthday, my new mom make this really "hard to make" but sooo delicious dish. She spend 3 hours cooking it. It was a great dinner. Men and women eat separated, each of this groups have they own dish, and all the member of the group eat together with one spoon in just one big dish. the Mafe is serve on top of white rice and you can put some hot sauce on it. You have to eat it all, because if you leave a "wall" between you and someone else, they belive you wont see each other in heaven.
I make this dish in my country 2 times. It wasnt as good as they made it but it make me think about them.
Last year when i went to visit them in USa, the mom cooked this for my birthday.
