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Maffe Hakko Bantara (Simmered Cassava Leaf and Smoked Fish Stew)
A rich, velvety green stew of pounded cassava leaves slow-simmered with smoked catfish, tender beef, and golden red palm oil.
The story
Originating among the Kissi and Guerzé peoples of Guinée Forestière, Maffe Hakko Bantara is a daily pillar of sustenance that powers long agricultural workdays. Prepared in large cast-iron caldrons over open wood fires, it showcases the forest region's abundance of cassava foliage and river fish. A technical nuance unfamiliar to many cooks is that raw cassava leaves contain naturally occurring cyanogenic glucosides which require at least 45 minutes of vigorous boiling in an uncovered pot to fully volatilize before oils or groundnuts are added.
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