Maafé (Peanut Stew)

Ingredients

2 lbs stewing beef, chopped into smaller pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
1 cup water
2 cups stock / beef broth
1 tablespoon beef stock / beef bouillon powder (Like Knorr brand, for example)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat and sauté the beef, seasoned with half the pepper and a pinch of salt, for 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the onions, and bell pepper to the pan and sauté for another few minutes, until softened.
Add in the tomato paste, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes more.
Pour in the water, stock, bouillon powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes or so.
Add peanut butter and stir until dissolved. Simmer on Low for another 5 minutes, until thickened. If needed, the sauce can be thinned out with a bit of water.

My Notes

I halved this recipe and used 1 lb (450 grams) of ground beef instead of stewing meat. I fried the mince then drained it before returning it to the pan and carrying on with the recipe. I didn’t have beef stock or beef bouillon powder in the house so used 1.5 cups of water with 3/4 of a chicken stock cube I had floating around. I also used 1 canned tomato and some of the tomato juices from the can, since I had it in the fridge. Instead of cayenne pepper I used 1/2 teaspoon of Kashmiri chili powder. This made 4 meals for us (smaller portions).