My version of Nigerian Pepper stew

Hello!

Today I am here with my first FOOD post. And since I am married to Nigerian, I wanted to learn some Nigerian meals so my hubby will feel at least a little bit like at his home country. And what I have learnt about Nigerian cuisine - there is always a pepper stew on the stove in Nigeria to eat it with rice, pounded yam, amala, eba or other typical Nigerian side dish.

But before I get to the meal itself I would like to talk a bit about Nigerians and food in general. I am no expert and this is only my personal insight that I got from my husband, my friends and let's be honest - internet. It was the internet who taught me how to cook Nigerian or I should say the countless amount of Nigerian women who are kind enough to share their cooking wisdom with us (I personally follow the channels of these 2 wonderful ladies - All Nigerian Recipes and AfroFoodTv. What I love about Nigerian food (or African food in general) is the fact that dining is a very important part of life for them and if you ask Nigerian what they like the most about their culture most of them answer "9ja food". Nigerians love to cook and they also love to eat. They are enjoying every part of it and they take the time for the dining (you will never see a Nigerian to eat in a haste). Another great thing about Nigerian food is that everything is natural. You cook from a scratch and you mostly use fresh ingredients. Even though Nigerian meals are very hearty I think they are healthier than most European dishes. No matter what I cook from the Czech traditional cuisine, it's always "only" the second best to Nigerian food (even though "řízek" with potato salad is a strong contender - lol). So far I tried from Nigerian recipes only Pepper stew, Jollof rice and Beans porridge with plantain or sweet corn but I can say only about the pepper stew that I perfected it - in my own way - so I can share the recipe. I am posting a recipe for a beef stew but you can alternate the meat for chicken, fish, lamb or goat (which is very popular in Nigeria) - Nigerians also like to mix the different kinds of meat together in one stew so you see there are no limits for your imagination and experiments.

Nigerian Pepper Stew (European version)

Ingredients:

• 800g beef (the kind most suitable for stew)
• 3 cans of pealed tomatoes (you can use even fresh tomatoes but make sure they are very ripe - in this case use like 7 of them)
• 2 onions (middle size)
• 2 red bell peppers (I sometimes use only 1 grilled one - it has a stronger taste)
• 2-3 red habanero pepper (for beginners only 1)
• 6 stock cubes of Maggi
• crayfish
• thyme
• salt
• vegetable oil (not olive oil)

First cut the beef into small cubes (if it is not cut already from the butcher or the shop), cut 1 onion into small pieces. Put them both inside a big pot and add water a little bit above the level of the meat. Start cooking. During the cooking add salt to taste and 3 stock cubes. Cook until the meat is soft the way you like it - I like mine very very soft so I cook it usually about an hour and half on a low heat. Make sure you check it from time to time if there is enough water. After it is boiled remove the meat and keep the beef stock with the onion aside (we will still use it!). 

Now we will move to the main part of the stew - tomato/pepper mixture. Take a blender and blend the tomatoes, bell peppers, habanero peppers and the second onion together until it's very smooth. Use the pot you cooked the beef inside before (make sure you clean it well so it won't burn) put 1 cm high level of oil and make sure the oil is heated up. Than pure the mixture inside (be careful and don't burn yourself - it can sputter at first). Mix everything with the oil and put on a medium heat. Add the rest 3 cubes of Maggi and leave it to reduce. When the mixture is reduced and starts to get thicker, you can add the beef stock for the better taste. It will be more liquidy again so reduce again. Check from time to time so it won't get burned. Cook until the oil start to separate from the mixture (you will see it sitting on the top of the mixture). At this point you can add more salt if needed (remember there is already salt in the beef stock!), crayfish and thyme to taste. Also add the beef inside (for better taste fry it or roast it in the oven). Cook for more additional 10 minutes - MAKE SURE you stir it frequently now - it gets burned very easily at this faze. And we are done!

I like the stew the most with pounded yam (which my husband makes - I am not strong enough to pound it well - lacking the African power - lol) or with rice and dodo (fried plantain) like in the picture. But you can eat it with anything, really - with spaghetti you can create an afro-italian dish! ;-) I hope you will find this recipe helpful and worth trying. Bon appetite! 

xoxo

Your Funmilayo