REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Moambe Chicken and Sweet Potato Fufu

Moambe chicken traditionally is made with palm nut cream rather than peanut butter. But the goal of OWW is to encourage people to expand their cooking repertoires and palates more than it is to be 100% authentic. As many recipes converted this ingredient to peanut butter, I did the same. But if you can locate palm nut cream it is the heart of this dish.

I thought the meal would be just OK, as I tend not to love tomatoes and peanut butter together in stews. I was incorrect. It was excellent.

Moambe Chicken

4 whole chicken legs

2 tablespoons palm oil or olive oil

½ onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon salt + some to sprinkle on chicken

1 can (~14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, ideally fire roasted

1 cup chicken stock, optional

3 tablespoons natural peanut butter OR palm nut concentrate

1. Wash and pat dry the chicken legs and sprinkle with some salt. Add the oil a large lidded sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the chicken on both sides While chicken is browning, chop onions and mince garlic, and set aside.

2. Once the chicken is browned on both sides, set remove to a plate. Add the onions to the pan, lower the meat to medium-low, and sauté 5 minutes. Add in the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Then add in the cayenne if using, paprika, and salt. Cook stirring for 30 seconds. Add in the stock or 1 cup of water. When the mixture comes to a boil, nestle the chicken skin side up in the sauce, cover, reduce heat to low. Cook for 25 minutes.

3. Remove the chicken and set aside,. Stir in the peanut butter or palm nut cream. Place the chicken back in skin side down and simmer, uncovered, 5 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Season to taste. Serve wit rice or fufu.

Sweet Potato Fufu

2 large white or yellow sweet potatoes

1 teaspoon butter (optional)

1. Peel potatoes and cut into large dice. Place otatoes in large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until the otatoes arefork tender, about 25 minutes.

2. Remove pot and drain potatoes. Add butter if using.

3. Mash with a potato masher, then beat and stir with a wooden spoon until completely smooth.

4. Shape the fufu into balls and serve immediately with meat stew or any dish with a sauce or gravy.

#moambe #fufu #sweetpotatofufu #congo #cookingtheworld

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FUN FACTS:

• Congo's lush wilderness provides a sanctuary for an estimated 125,000 western lowland gorillas—representing roughly 80% of the world's total population.

• The Republic of the Congo is supposedly home to the legendary Mokele-mbembe known as “Congo’s Loch Ness Monster”. The beast is said to be a large reptile-like creature, with a long neck and long tail similar to Scotland’s legendary monster.

• The Republic of the Congo became Africa’s first Marxist state, in 1968, and remained Marxist until 1992.