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Ifisashi

A Zambian stew made with peanut paste, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and spinach.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Ifisashi

Time15–20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.

  2. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the pot and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent.

  3. Add the diced tomato, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper to the pot and cook until the vegetables are tender.

Make the peanut stew

  1. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, blend the shelled peanuts until they form a smooth paste, adding a little water if needed to achieve the desired consistency.

  2. Add the peanut paste to the pot with the cooked vegetables and stir well to combine.

  3. Pour in enough water to reach your desired consistency for the stew and stir to mix it with the peanut and vegetable mixture.

  4. Season the stew with ground cayenne pepper, ground cumin, ground paprika, and salt to taste, then adjust the seasoning according to your preference.

Simmer and serve

  1. Let the stew simmer for about 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the flavors to meld and the stew to thicken.

  2. Add the chopped spinach to the pot, stir to incorporate it, and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the spinach wilts and becomes tender.

  3. Remove the pot from the heat and let the stew rest for a few minutes before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

415Calories
13 gProtein
29 gFat
32 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Cumin + spinachtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together325 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Garlic + spinachtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,435 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Tomato + cumintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Peanuts
Blended into a paste that thickens the stew and gives it a rich, nutty body.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it cooks, building the savory base of the stew.
Tomato
Adds acidity and moisture that help blend the vegetables into the stew.
Green bell pepper
Contributes fresh, slightly bitter vegetable flavor and body as it becomes tender.
Red bell pepper
Adds sweetness and color as it softens into the stew.
Spinach
Wilts into the stew, adding leafy texture and a mild green flavor.

The step that matters

Blending the peanuts into a smooth paste. Peanuts must be blended fully smooth, and thinned gradually, so the paste emulsifies evenly into the liquid instead of leaving grainy clumps or a stew that is too thick or thin.

Swap the peanut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, clove, garlic, tomato, pepper, cumin, spinach):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Lentilsfits better
  3. Black-eyed peafits better
  4. Peanutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, clove, garlic, tomato, pepper, cumin, spinach. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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