Matapa

Name: Matapa
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mozambican
Ingredients: 500 g cassava leaves (or substitute finely chopped collard greens, pounded); 100 g raw peanuts (ground into a coarse paste); 300 ml coconut milk; 200 g small shrimp (peeled); 1 pc onion (chopped); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 200 ml water; salt (to taste)

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Cassava leaves pounded and simmered with ground peanuts and coconut milk, often finished with small shrimp, a coastal Mozambican staple full of umami depth.

Servings4 SERVINGS

Ingredients

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Method

Pound the leaves

Pound the cassava leaves (or collard greens) with a mortar and pestle until finely crushed and slightly pasty.

This pounding step is what gives matapa its characteristic soft, slightly stretchy texture — a food processor works if you don't have a mortar and pestle.

Simmer the leaves

Put the pounded leaves in a pot with the water, onion and garlic, and simmer until tender.

20 min

Add the peanut paste

Stir in the ground peanut paste until it dissolves into the greens.

5 min

Add coconut milk

Pour in the coconut milk and simmer gently until the sauce thickens slightly.

10 min

Add the shrimp

Stir in the shrimp and simmer just until they turn pink and are cooked through.

Shrimp cook fast — pull the pot off the heat as soon as they curl and turn opaque so they don't turn rubbery.

5 min

Season and serve

Season with salt to taste and serve hot with rice or xima.

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Matapa

6 steps · 4 timers · 4 servings