Root Vegetable Mafé

The scent of mafé instantly takes me back to my childhood. The peanut-based sauce, one of the mother sauces of West African cuisine, has some similarities with Mexican mole in that it is a nut-based sauce thickened through slow cooking. The classic West African mafé almost always has lamb, chicken, or fish, but I love the simplicity and elegance of the vegan version that I’m introducing here. My mafé overflows with healthy, delicious root vegetables like cassava, carrots, sweet potatoes, and turnips. It’s the perfect when you’re entertaining a mix of guests that includes really hungry people with various dietary restrictions.

Traditionally, the vegetables are cooked together in the same pot with the sauce, but I prefer to blanch the various vegetables because this allows me to have better control of the cooking of each individual vegetable. When they are ready to serve, I simply add them to the stew to finish cooking and to reheat. This also visibly enhances the natural colors and textures of the vegetables, making the dish that much more beautiful and presentable.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Simply West African' by Pierre Thiam—one of the best cookbooks of 2023. Buy the full book on Amazon.