Recipe · Cameroonian
Ndolé
Bitter leaf and peanut stew, from Cameroon
Ndolé is often called Cameroon's national dish: bitter leaves cooked in a creamy sauce of ground peanuts, with tender beef and shrimp fried with onion on top. The leaves are washed to soften their bitterness, so what's left is a pleasant edge against the rich peanuts. It's a dish for Sundays and celebrations.
Illustration- Serves
- 6 people
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 1 h 15 min
- Total
- 1 h 45 min
Ingredients
- About 200 g dried ndolé (bitter leaves)
- 2 cups raw skinless peanuts
- 750 g beef, in cubes
- 300 g shrimp, peeled
- 2 tbsp ground crayfish (optional)
- 2 onions: half of one for the beef, the rest sliced
- 4 garlic cloves and a thumb of ginger
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 seasoning cubes
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper, left whole (optional)
- Salt
- To serve: ripe plantains, fried or boiled
Steps
Wash the leaves
Soak the dried ndolé in hot water for 30 minutes. Rinse and squeeze it in several changes of water to take away some of the bitterness. Leave a little: that's the taste of ndolé.
Cook the beef
Simmer the beef with the half onion, one cube, salt and about 3 cups of water for 40 minutes, until tender. Keep the stock.
Make the peanut paste
Boil the peanuts for 15 minutes, drain, then blend with the garlic, ginger and about 1 cup of fresh water into a smooth paste.
Simmer the sauce
Stir the peanut paste into the beef and its stock with the crayfish and whole pepper. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes, stirring often so it doesn't catch, until it thickens and looks like soft curds.
Add the leaves
Stir in the ndolé leaves and simmer for 10 minutes more. Take out the pepper and season with the second cube and salt.
Fry the shrimp and serve
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the sliced onion until golden. Add the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes, until pink. Stir half into the pot and spoon the rest over each plate. Serve with fried or boiled plantain.
Tips
- The peanut sauce catches easily: keep the heat low and stir.
- Add the shrimp at the end so they stay tender.
- In Cameroon, ndolé is also eaten with miondo or bobolo (cassava sticks) or with rice.
- Ndolé keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes well.
Ingredients available at our store
Find these at Africa World Market, 1392 Cyrville Rd, Ottawa. Free parking.
- Dried ndolé (bitter leaves)
- Skinless peanuts
- Shrimp
- Ground crayfish
- Seasoning cubes
- Ripe plantains
What we carry changes with deliveries. Call us to check before you come.
Call the store · (613) 244-0325 Get directions (opens in a new tab)Weekly flyer
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Questions
What is ndolé?
Ndolé is a Cameroonian stew of bitter leaves cooked in a sauce of ground peanuts, usually with beef, shrimp or smoked fish. The word also names the leaves themselves.
Are ndolé leaves the same as bitterleaf?
Yes. Ndolé leaves come from the same bitter leaf plant used in Nigerian bitterleaf soup.
What do you serve with ndolé?
Ripe plantain, fried or boiled, is the classic. Miondo, bobolo and rice are also common.
Where can I buy ndolé in Ottawa?
Africa World Market, 1392 Cyrville Rd, Ottawa, carries dried ndolé leaves, raw peanuts, shrimp, crayfish and plantains. Call (613) 244-0325 to check what's in stock.
