Plasas is a traditional Sierra Leonian recipe for a classic stew of greens, fish and meat in a palm oil, tomato and hot chilli sauce thickened with okra, egusi seeds and dried prawns. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Sierra Leonian version of: Plasas.
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Plasas is a stew of greens, meat and fish most commonly found in Sierra Leone and The Gambia where it is effectively the local version of Palaver Sauce
Ingredients:
300ml Palm oil
1.2kg chicken cut into serving-sized pieces
450g stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tsp ground ginger
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 hot chilli, finely chopped
2 Maggi, or bouillon, cubes
900g shredded greens (sweet potato leaves, cassava leaves, collard greens, kale, turnip greens)
6 okra, sliced
2 dried smoked fish, washed and flaked into pieces
200g dried prawns
100g ground egusi (or pumpkin) seeds
salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and baking soda, to taste
Method:
Heat the oil in a large pot and cook the meat in this for a few minutes. Add the chillies, onions, bouillon cubes and some 450ml water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add the greens at this stage, season with the cayenne pepper, salt and baking soda then cover the pot and cook until tender (spinach will cook in 20 minutes, the other greens may take up to 35 minutes).
When the greens are done add the dried fish and dried prawns. Meanwhile combine the or egusi seeds (or pumpkin seeds [you can also substitute peanut butter]) with hot water and stir until smooth before adding to the greens and meat. Allow the mixture to simmer for ten minutes more so that the stock thickens.
