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Liberia: Palaver Sauce (Beef and Spinach)

Source of Recipe

unknown


Recipe Introduction

Palaver Sauce is actually not a sauce at all but a stew. In Ghana it is made with a combination of meats, fish, and greens with tomato paste and is called Palaver Sauce or Kontonmire Stew. The name itself has interesting origins; "Palaver" (or Palava in Ghana) means a long-winded debate or quarrel. It seems that the first Palava Sauces were made with greens which had long ropey stems. As a large group of people stood arround the stew the first to ladle out his portion would invariably slap his neighbor with one of the long stems, provoking a quarrel, and much talk and discussion would follow. The greens are now finely cut, but the name remains. In a 1-gallon pot:
Simmer: 2 lbs. STEW BEEF cut in 1/2-inch cubes (or use half beef and half chicken) in
2 quarts WATER and
1 Tbs. SALT until meat is half cooked.
Add: 4 cups COLLARD GREENS, chopped finely
2 cups SPINACH, chopped finely.
Simmer gently until meat and greens are cooked (about 15 minutes).
Add 1 Ib. BONED SMOKED FISH.
Cook for five minutes. All water should be absorbed.
Add: 1 cup ONIONS, chopped finely and sauteed lightly in
1/2 cup VEGETABLE or PEANUT OIL with
1 or 2 small HOT PEPPERS (or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper).
Correct the Seasonings
Simmer five minutes longer.
Serve with white rice.