Sierra Leone: Collard Greens Plasas {CATWWC}

We headed to Sierra Leone next on our Cooking Around the World Adventure.

On the Map

Sierra Leone is located on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Guinea to the north and northeast, Liberia to the south and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

from LonelyPlanet.com

A Few Fun Facts

• Sierra Leone gained its independence from Great Britain on April 27th, 1961.
• The name of the country, from the Portuguese Serra Leao, means "Lion Mountain Range."
• English is the official language of Sierra Leone; however Krio, a language derived from English and several African languages, is widely spoken in all parts of the country.
• On February 14, 1972, the country made headlines when the world's third-largest gem-quality diamond – called the Star of Sierra Leone – was discovered in Koidu.
• Over two-thirds of all adults in Sierra Leone are illiterate and the country has high infant mortality and low life expectancy rates. The maternal death rate of Sierra Leone is the highest in the world, at 2,000 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Though many of the dishes resembled other dishes we've already made throughout this adventure, I found a dish that interested me: Spinach Plasas. In the end, I went with a Collard Greens Plasas because that's what I had in my CSA box from High Ground Organics.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch collard greens (traditionally this dish is made with spinach; I used what I had)
• 1 pound ground beef (traditionally it's made with stewing meat; I used what I had)
• 8 ounces of smoked fish (I used smoked trout), flaked
• 1 large onion, chopped
• olive oil
• 1/4 C peanut butter
• 3 C water
• 1 C fresh tomato sauce
• 1 t paprika
• freshly ground salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Procedure

In a large, flat-bottom pan brown the onions in a splash of olive oil. Add in the ground beef and cook completely.

Julienne the collard greens and add it to the beef. Stir in the peanut butter, water, and tomato sauce. Bring to boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until greens are tender. Stir in the flaked fish and spices. Cover and simmer until the sauce has thickened, approximately another 10 minutes.

Serve with steamed rice...I used a mixture of brown basmati and forbidden rice.

And that's a wrap on Sierra Leone. We're moving on in our tabletop travel.