Gambia

 Welcome to Gambia!  We visited Africa again, and it didn't disappoint!  According to Google, Gambia has a population of 2.28 million people, and the capital is Banjul.  And their national food is...

 

Domoda!

What is this, you ask?  Domoda is a Gambian peanut stew.  Traditionally, it is made of ground nuts and whatever veggie is available.  We've had peanut butter chicken before, and loved it, so we thought this would be very similar.  It was!  Along with Domoda, we made Gambian Spinach with Peanut Sauce.  Basically, Peanut Butter Spinach.  We weren't sure at first that we liked it, but when we kept eating it, we realized it was really tasty!  Here's what I did:

DOMODA

1 lb Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 Onion, diced

2 tbsp Avocado Oil

6 Cloves Garlic, minced

3 Roma Tomatoes, diced

1/2 can Tomato Paste

3/4 C Peanut Butter (we used the natural - nothing added - peanut butter)

2 tsp Chicken Bullion

3 C Water

1 Habanero Pepper, diced

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Heat oil in large pot and saute onions until golden.
2. Add the chicken and garlic to the pot, and stir for about three minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, and cook for about three minutes.
4. Add the tomato paste, Habanero, peanut butter, and stir to combine.
5. Add the water and bullion.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the sweet potatoes, cover, and cook for around 35 minutes, until potato is cooked.

(Source: https://www.daringgourmet.com/domoda-gambian-peanut-stew/)

 

GAMBIAN SPINACH WITH PEANUT SAUCE

1 tbsp Peanut Oil

1 Onion, diced

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Roma Tomato, diced

1 lb Spinach Leaves

1/4 C Peanut Butter (we used the natural - nothing added - peanut butter)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Cayenne Pepper, to taste

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until softened.
3. Add the garlic and tomatoes. 
4. Cook until the tomatoes start to soften, and add spinach.
5. Cook, stirring often, until the spinach is wilted.
6. Stir in peanut butter and cook until it melts into a sauce.  
7. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

(Source: https://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/sundaysupper-healthy-green-recipes-gambian-spinach-with-peanut-sauce/)

   

Overall, we enjoyed this meal, but thought the stew was a bit bland.  If you like peanut butter, you will REALLY like this meal!  I definitely recommend adding salt to both the stew and spinach, as it helps bring out more flavors.  Both recipes said to serve over rice, which we did, but really thought they could both stand on their own and not bother with rice.  I also think that next time, just adding the spinach to the stew would be very good (this is what we did with leftovers).  

So the rating.  We are all going to rate the dishes on a scale of 1-10.

ME

Taste of Domoda (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Domoda (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 5

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 2

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 4

 

ME

Taste of Gambian Spinach with Peanut Sauce (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Gambian Spinach with Peanut Sauce (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 8

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

Another one down!  We're not venturing far on our next adventure!  Hope to see you in Tunisia!