Kontomire in an earthen clay mortar

'Kontomire' stew which is made out of Cocoyam leaves (Ghanaian Spinach) is a popular dish in Ghana and it's eaten with either boiled Yam, Plantain, Cocoyam, Rice etc. 

In this recipe I substituted the Cocoyam leaves for Spinach from the supermarket with a bit of a twist. 

Ingredients:

Serves 4

1 bag of spinach, washed thoroughly with salt under cold water.

1 diced large onion

2 diced green chillies

1 tablespoon of Palm oil

2 large tomatoes chopped into cubes

3/4 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of roasted pine nuts/ crushed peanuts

1 litre of water. 

Method;

In a saucepan heat the water till it boils. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the washed spinach. 

Mix it thoroughly till you see the spinach wilt and shrink into a small amount. This process takes about 2 minutes. 

Drain the spinach into a colander and run it under cold water, (this stops the spinach from over cooking and maintains it's green colour). Make sure you squeeze any excess water out of the Spinach. 

Using an earthern clay pot mortar (if not use your food processor and blitz) add half your onion, green chillies and salt and grind till you have a smooth paste. 

Add the wilted spinach and grind till you have a smooth paste. 

Save yourself some washing by using the same saucepan as before. 

Place your saucepan on a medium heat and melt the palm oil. 

Once melted add the remaining half of the onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the remaining chillies and fry for a further minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 3 minutes. The cubed tomatoes should just heat up and not over cook. It's vital for the tomatoes to have a bite in this recipe. 

Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. 

Pour the spicy Palm oil with tomatoes over the Spinach evenly.

Sprinkle the pine nuts over the Spinach mix and serve with either boiled Rice, Yam, Plantain, or Cocoyam

Best with grilled Mackerel or Salmon. 

All photos are by the author of this blog.