Katapa — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Finely pounded cassava leaves slow-cooked in a rich groundnut sauce until meltingly tender, a beloved dish in northern and western Zambia.

Ingredients

2 cups cassava leaves, finely pounded
1 cup groundnut paste
2 tomatoes, diced
1 onion, chopped
Salt to taste
2 cups water
1 tsp dried chili flakes

Instructions

1 Pound fresh cassava leaves in a mortar until very finely ground, or use pre-ground frozen cassava leaves.
2 Boil pounded leaves in salted water for twenty minutes to remove bitterness and soften them completely.
3 In a separate pot, sauté onion and tomatoes for five minutes until soft.
4 Add the boiled cassava leaves and stir in groundnut paste, mixing until fully incorporated.
5 Add chili flakes and simmer for twenty minutes on low heat, stirring regularly to prevent burning.
6 The finished dish should be thick, rich, and dark green. Serve hot with nshima.

Did You Know?

Cassava leaves must be thoroughly cooked to neutralize naturally occurring cyanogenic compounds, which is why traditional recipes call for extended cooking times.