The traditional Zimbabwean meal has to have some greens of sorts, ranging from covo, rape, pumpkin greens, spider leaves and others that I can not think of right now.My father will not eat his Sadza(the staple food) without any greens, meat is a luxury that most people can do without sometimes but greens always. The thing about Africa is that vegetables are affordable and easily accessible. Most places where people suffer from from mal-nourishment, it is usually a protein deficiency.
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you will know I have a garden with a lot in it; herbs, collards, onions, kale, pumpkin, potatoes, tomatoes, mustard greens, peppers, melons, corn, lettuce, cucumber and a lemon tree. I have small flower bed that I turned into a garden and I have flower pots, paint tin and an old laundry basket to put all my plants in. I have my parents to thank for my green thumb, but I must say I almost gave up because everything kept dying but I persevered and I am happy with the results. The good thing about growing your own food is that you can grow food that you can not easily find in shops and even better is that it tastes so much better and you know there are no harmful pesticides in it. Below is a picture of my mustard greens that I grow in a flower pot:
Mustard greens have a distinct smell and flavour to them, it is essential that you cook them properly otherwise you will not like them. One thing about this recipe though is that I think to get the desired taste is that I think it kills off all the vitamins, but at the same time if you do not cook the greens thoroughly they have a sharp taste. This is how I prepare them:
Ingredients
- 1 bunch mustard greens
- 1 diced small onion
- 1 diced tomato
- 1 diced jalapeno pepper (you can skip this if you do not like spicy food)
Method:
Cut off the stalks if you want to ad cut the mustard greens into ribbons
Bring to boil salted water and add the greens and cook for 10 minutes
Drain the water and add the greens back to the saucepan, add one cup warm water and add the onions, pepper and tomato. Simmer for 5 minutes, you should still have some water in your pot.
Add one tablespoon of peanut butter to the saucepan and stir it in with a wooden spoon. Make sure that your stove is turned to low heat and allow the peanut butter to cook for about five more minutes. Taste for salt if you need to add more.
Serve with Sadza, meat is optional. If you do it correctly the mustard will melt in your mouth.
