Cook this: Three recipes from Vegan Africa, including a plant-based spin on Malian peanut stew

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Our cookbook of the week is Vegan Africa: Plant-Based Recipes from Ethiopia to Senegal by Marie Kacouchia. Read an interview with the author.

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Jump to the recipes: red cabbage salad with mango and peanuts, vegetable mafe (Malian peanut stew) and savoury Mauritian crêpes.

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Marie Kacouchia turned to her family, friends and their relatives when researching the recipes for Vegan Africa, taking inspiration from more than 15 culinary traditions. But the first recipe we’re sharing from her cookbook debut, red cabbage salad with mango and peanuts, is one of her own creations. One that was inspired by her experiences growing up in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and visiting family in Burkina Faso.

“To me, (the book) was a way to encapsulate my childhood flavour memories, and to show that you can have recipes that are really bursting with flavour, that are fresh, that are easy. Because sometimes people think that African food is unhealthy, it takes time and I wanted to really contradict this cliché.”

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Kacouchia has a special connection with mango. It’s one of her favourite fruits and is plentiful in West Africa. “Mango season is like a celebration of its own.” The combination of sweet mango and savoury peanuts in this salad especially reminds her of her childhood.

At family gatherings, there would always be a large salad on the table, which was laden with many dishes. Kacouchia would fill her plate with salad, jollof rice, or yellow rice with spices like cumin and turmeric, stew, chutney and bread (in West Africa, usually baguette). The sweet and salty flavour combination was a feature of many of her favourite salads and snacks, including plantain fritters (a.k.a. beignets or claclo, as they’re known in Ivory Coast), which are also in the book.

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“Sometimes people tell me that this recipe is very Asian-like and it makes me smile and happy because yes, it’s very similar. But we are used to doing this (sweet and salty) association too in West Africa.”

The second recipe, vegetable mafe, is another of Kacouchia’s favourites. “It is like a soft blanket. It is the ultimate comfort food for me. It’s very rich but in a positive way,” she says of the Malian peanut stew. “It’s very, very flavourful. It’s soft. It’s warm. And also, you don’t cook mafe for one. No. It’s always like a huge, huge portion. And you share and you eat with other people, or you eat it for a week because yes, the portions are huge.”

Kacouchia often experiments with different local vegetables, cooking with what’s in season. If she were making mafe in West Africa, she would use small, white African eggplants. At home in Paris, Italian eggplants. “You can also play around and add other veggies, your favourite veggies. I would advise to maybe roast them to have even more flavour.”

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Mafe is one of the most well-known West African dishes, she adds, especially in France where the Malian diaspora “is very important.” Many Malians moved to France during the 1960s and 1970s, and they brought the recipe with them.

“To me, it’s important to showcase this recipe. And it’s the perfect example of being Afro-French because it’s one of the first recipes that was really brought here and that is now — not a classic, I wouldn’t say that — but is known and loved.”

Lastly, we have a flatbread from the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius. Indian dishes, ingredients and techniques have greatly influenced the cuisines of East Africa, Kacouchia explains, especially those of the islands. This recipe is the perfect embodiment of that influence.

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“It’s so easy to make. It’s bursting with flavour. It’s perfect to have with stews, and there are a lot of stews in the book.”

Kacouchia features a variety of breads in Vegan Africa, including chapati, coco bread and injera, because they are so central to the cuisines and cultures.

“This one I love because it really summarizes my cause with the book. It is for people to discover and taste the recipes, but also to really include the recipes in their weekly meal rotation and everyday life. You know, to have go-tos. Recipes so easy that they can do it with a few ingredients,” says Kacouchia of her savoury Mauritian crêpes.

“Sometimes you have cookbooks that are beautiful, but you never use them because they are too complicated … And I want this one to be very easy for people to have a few recipes in the back of their mind that they can make with pantry staples.”

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RED CABBAGE SALAD WITH MANGO AND PEANUTS

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute

1 small red cabbage, outer leaves removed, halved and thinly sliced
1 ripe but firm mango, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch mint, leaves chopped
1 green chili pepper (such as jalapeño), chopped
1 scallion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup (75 g) peanuts
Salt
Black pepper

Step 1

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the cabbage in the pot for about 1 minute, then transfer immediately to the bowl of ice water to stop further cooking. Drain the cooled cabbage on paper or kitchen towels. Transfer the cabbage to a large bowl.

Step 2

Add the mango, cilantro, mint, chili and scallion to the bowl.

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Step 3

To make the dressing, mix the lemon juice, sesame oil, garlic powder, salt and black pepper together in a small bowl.

Step 4

Pour the dressing over the red cabbage and toss to combine the flavours. Top with peanuts. Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Serves: 4

VEGETABLE MAFE

Malian Peanut Stew

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

2 tbsp argan oil (or other vegetable oil)
2 onions, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
1 cup (260 g) canned crushed tomatoes
2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled
3/4 cup (195 g) peanut butter
3 African eggplants or 1 small Italian eggplant, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 green cabbage, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 turnips, peeled and chopped
1 habanero chili pepper or small sweet pepper
12 okra, trimmed and chopped
Chopped peanuts (optional)
Salt
Black pepper

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Step 1

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger, and cook until the onion is translucent, 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and stock cubes, then add 6 cups (1.5 L) water and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Step 2

Add the peanut butter and stir until it is fully incorporated. Add the eggplants, sweet potato, cabbage, carrots, turnips and habanero. Stir carefully to avoid crushing the habanero.

Step 3

Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until thickened, 1 hour.

Step 4

Add the okra, season with salt and pepper, and stir. Cook until the vegetables are soft, 30 minutes.

Step 5

Remove the chili pepper, sprinkle with peanuts if desired and serve.

Serves: 6

SAVOURY MAURITIAN CRÊPES

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Rest Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes

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1 1/3 cups (200 g) whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp minced chives
1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for frying
1 2/3 cups (400 mL) warm water

Step 1

Combine the flour, salt, turmeric, chives and oil in a large bowl. Slowly add the water, whisking constantly to remove any lumps and form a smooth batter.

Step 2

Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 1 hour to thicken the batter.

Step 3

Heat a layer of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add a ladleful of batter to the pan and gently tilt the pan so the batter covers the entire surface. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 1 minute. Loosen the edges with a spatula, flip the crêpe over and cook on the other side, about 1 minute. Slide the crêpe off the pan and onto a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.

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Step 4

Repeat with the remaining batter. Enjoy immediately with Satini Cotomili (Cilantro Chutney, recipe follows).

Makes: 5 crêpes

SATINI COTOMILI

Cilantro Chutney

Prep Time: 10 minutes

2 tomatoes, diced
1 white onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro
1 green chili pepper (such as jalapeño), halved, seeds removed if desired
1 large garlic clove, halved
2 tbsp white vinegar
Salt
Black pepper

Step 1

Place the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chili, garlic, white vinegar and 1/2 cup (120 mL) water in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper, then process until smooth.

Makes: about 1 1/2 cups (400 g)

Recipes and images excerpted from Vegan Africa: Plant-Based Recipes from Ethiopia to Senegal by Marie Kacouchia, Éditions La Plage, ©2021. Translation The Experiment, LLC, ©2022. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available everywhere books are sold.

Article content

Our cookbook of the week is Vegan Africa: Plant-Based Recipes from Ethiopia to Senegal by Marie Kacouchia. Read an interview with the author.

Article content

Jump to the recipes: red cabbage salad with mango and peanuts, vegetable mafe (Malian peanut stew) and savoury Mauritian crêpes.

Article content

Marie Kacouchia turned to her family, friends and their relatives when researching the recipes for Vegan Africa, taking inspiration from more than 15 culinary traditions. But the first recipe we’re sharing from her cookbook debut, red cabbage salad with mango and peanuts, is one of her own creations. One that was inspired by her experiences growing up in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and visiting family in Burkina Faso.

“To me, (the book) was a way to encapsulate my childhood flavour memories, and to show that you can have recipes that are really bursting with flavour, that are fresh, that are easy. Because sometimes people think that African food is unhealthy, it takes time and I wanted to really contradict this cliché.”

Article content

Kacouchia has a special connection with mango. It’s one of her favourite fruits and is plentiful in West Africa. “Mango season is like a celebration of its own.” The combination of sweet mango and savoury peanuts in this salad especially reminds her of her childhood.

At family gatherings, there would always be a large salad on the table, which was laden with many dishes. Kacouchia would fill her plate with salad, jollof rice, or yellow rice with spices like cumin and turmeric, stew, chutney and bread (in West Africa, usually baguette). The sweet and salty flavour combination was a feature of many of her favourite salads and snacks, including plantain fritters (a.k.a. beignets or claclo, as they’re known in Ivory Coast), which are also in the book.

Article content

“Sometimes people tell me that this recipe is very Asian-like and it makes me smile and happy because yes, it’s very similar. But we are used to doing this (sweet and salty) association too in West Africa.”

The second recipe, vegetable mafe, is another of Kacouchia’s favourites. “It is like a soft blanket. It is the ultimate comfort food for me. It’s very rich but in a positive way,” she says of the Malian peanut stew. “It’s very, very flavourful. It’s soft. It’s warm. And also, you don’t cook mafe for one. No. It’s always like a huge, huge portion. And you share and you eat with other people, or you eat it for a week because yes, the portions are huge.”

Kacouchia often experiments with different local vegetables, cooking with what’s in season. If she were making mafe in West Africa, she would use small, white African eggplants. At home in Paris, Italian eggplants. “You can also play around and add other veggies, your favourite veggies. I would advise to maybe roast them to have even more flavour.”

Article content

Mafe is one of the most well-known West African dishes, she adds, especially in France where the Malian diaspora “is very important.” Many Malians moved to France during the 1960s and 1970s, and they brought the recipe with them.

“To me, it’s important to showcase this recipe. And it’s the perfect example of being Afro-French because it’s one of the first recipes that was really brought here and that is now — not a classic, I wouldn’t say that — but is known and loved.”

Lastly, we have a flatbread from the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius. Indian dishes, ingredients and techniques have greatly influenced the cuisines of East Africa, Kacouchia explains, especially those of the islands. This recipe is the perfect embodiment of that influence.

Article content

“It’s so easy to make. It’s bursting with flavour. It’s perfect to have with stews, and there are a lot of stews in the book.”

Kacouchia features a variety of breads in Vegan Africa, including chapati, coco bread and injera, because they are so central to the cuisines and cultures.

“This one I love because it really summarizes my cause with the book. It is for people to discover and taste the recipes, but also to really include the recipes in their weekly meal rotation and everyday life. You know, to have go-tos. Recipes so easy that they can do it with a few ingredients,” says Kacouchia of her savoury Mauritian crêpes.

“Sometimes you have cookbooks that are beautiful, but you never use them because they are too complicated … And I want this one to be very easy for people to have a few recipes in the back of their mind that they can make with pantry staples.”

Article content

RED CABBAGE SALAD WITH MANGO AND PEANUTS

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute

1 small red cabbage, outer leaves removed, halved and thinly sliced
1 ripe but firm mango, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch mint, leaves chopped
1 green chili pepper (such as jalapeño), chopped
1 scallion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup (75 g) peanuts
Salt
Black pepper

Step 1

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the cabbage in the pot for about 1 minute, then transfer immediately to the bowl of ice water to stop further cooking. Drain the cooled cabbage on paper or kitchen towels. Transfer the cabbage to a large bowl.

Step 2

Add the mango, cilantro, mint, chili and scallion to the bowl.

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Step 3

To make the dressing, mix the lemon juice, sesame oil, garlic powder, salt and black pepper together in a small bowl.

Step 4

Pour the dressing over the red cabbage and toss to combine the flavours. Top with peanuts. Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Serves: 4

VEGETABLE MAFE

Malian Peanut Stew

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

2 tbsp argan oil (or other vegetable oil)
2 onions, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
1 cup (260 g) canned crushed tomatoes
2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled
3/4 cup (195 g) peanut butter
3 African eggplants or 1 small Italian eggplant, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 green cabbage, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 turnips, peeled and chopped
1 habanero chili pepper or small sweet pepper
12 okra, trimmed and chopped
Chopped peanuts (optional)
Salt
Black pepper

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Step 1

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger, and cook until the onion is translucent, 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and stock cubes, then add 6 cups (1.5 L) water and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Step 2

Add the peanut butter and stir until it is fully incorporated. Add the eggplants, sweet potato, cabbage, carrots, turnips and habanero. Stir carefully to avoid crushing the habanero.

Step 3

Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until thickened, 1 hour.

Step 4

Add the okra, season with salt and pepper, and stir. Cook until the vegetables are soft, 30 minutes.

Step 5

Remove the chili pepper, sprinkle with peanuts if desired and serve.

Serves: 6

SAVOURY MAURITIAN CRÊPES

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Rest Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes

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1 1/3 cups (200 g) whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp minced chives
1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for frying
1 2/3 cups (400 mL) warm water

Step 1

Combine the flour, salt, turmeric, chives and oil in a large bowl. Slowly add the water, whisking constantly to remove any lumps and form a smooth batter.

Step 2

Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 1 hour to thicken the batter.

Step 3

Heat a layer of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add a ladleful of batter to the pan and gently tilt the pan so the batter covers the entire surface. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 1 minute. Loosen the edges with a spatula, flip the crêpe over and cook on the other side, about 1 minute. Slide the crêpe off the pan and onto a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.

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Step 4

Repeat with the remaining batter. Enjoy immediately with Satini Cotomili (Cilantro Chutney, recipe follows).

Makes: 5 crêpes

SATINI COTOMILI

Cilantro Chutney

Prep Time: 10 minutes

2 tomatoes, diced
1 white onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro
1 green chili pepper (such as jalapeño), halved, seeds removed if desired
1 large garlic clove, halved
2 tbsp white vinegar
Salt
Black pepper

Step 1

Place the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chili, garlic, white vinegar and 1/2 cup (120 mL) water in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper, then process until smooth.

Makes: about 1 1/2 cups (400 g)

Recipes and images excerpted from Vegan Africa: Plant-Based Recipes from Ethiopia to Senegal by Marie Kacouchia, Éditions La Plage, ©2021. Translation The Experiment, LLC, ©2022. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available everywhere books are sold.