I once called my mother to ask her for a recipe. After almost 2 minutes of listening to her list a variety of ways to cook the food, I found myself totally confused and unsure of how I wanted to prepare it. It was pumpkin season in North America and I had stumbled upon a traditional favorite, pumpkin leaves. Rather than just picking one method of preparation, my mother had given me a whole recipe book. I distinctly remember her asking me if I wanted to make them with “peanut butter. fresh cream, oil and tomatoes…. with the blossoms or without. ” The list went on and although I was somewhat irritated at the time, I am now eternally grateful because I have a whole recipe book (okay, maybe 7 recipes) on cooking pumpkin leaves. Pumpkin season has once again rolled into North America and I must admit that I am in absolute heaven. After years of hunting, searching and begging for pumpkin leaves, this year I grew my own pumpkin patch. Besides enjoying childhood favorites such as Nhopi (mashed pumpkins with peanut butter) and just plain old boiled pumpkin with a light sprinkle of sugar, I am cooking all the recipes mom shared with me but my favorite has to be the pumpkin leaves in peanut butter sauce which I shall call Peanut Butter Smothered Pumpkin Leaves…it just sounds fancy. Not only is this dish delicious, it is loaded with iron, manganese, vitamin K and Vitamin A. In addition, the peanut butter adds much needed protein making it an excellent vegan choice.
You will need:
1 bunch of Pumpkin leaves (about 150g)
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1-2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter (more if you REALLY like peanut butter)
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
salt to taste
Peri Peri chilli (to taste)
(Can substitute Peri Peri with cayenne pepper)
Before you start cooking the pumpkin leaves, you will need to prepare them:
If you take a very close look pumpkin leaves you will notice little “thorns” along both the stem and leaf. These can have an unpleasant mouth feel and make your dish unpalatable. Younger leaves are a little more tender and the ideal ingredient to use. For this reason, pick the younger leaves from the vine.
To remove the thorns, gently break a small portion off the top of the stem and begin to drag it down the leaf. As you do this you will notice some of the fibers peeling off. Continue to do this until all portions of the stem has been stripped. When done peeling the stem, turn the leaf over and peel the fibers and thorns directly on the leaf. ( I somehow forgot to take a picture of this step but I hope you get the point).
This picture shows your leaves before (bottom) and after (top) peeling
Thoroughly wash the leaves before slicing or tearing the leaves into small strips
Now let’s get cooking:
In a small saucepan bring the water, bicarbonate of soda and salt to a boil
Add the pumpkin leaves and tomatoes. Cover and allow to simmer. Stir occasionally.
After about 10 minutes your pumpkin mixture will be reduced to about half and the leaf texture will be soft. If necessary, add more water and simmer further. If you taste the leaves, the “prickly” mouth feel will be gone and your vegetables will look and have a mouth feel like boiled spinach. Remove the vegetables and put aside. Save the remaining liquid.
Add the peanut butter to the reserved liquid and mix well to a paste.
Once the peanut butter mixture starts to bubble add the pumpkin leaves and mix well. Add the peri peri chilli at this time if you want to add a little heat to your dish.
Serve hot with Sadza (Ugali, nshima, fufu, isitshwala etc). Enjoy.
Here’s to your health.
