This stew—a take on mbaazi wa nazi, an East African pigeon pea dish that frequented my dining table growing up—features an aromatic curry paste that comes together quickly in a blender. As in the original, I opted for spicy red Thai chile to bring heat, but you can easily use jalapeño or serrano, or skip the chiles entirely for a heat-free version. For this version I use big creamy white beans, some Swiss chard, and sweet potato to add bulk, but feel free to sub any beans, tender leafy greens, or hearty veggies you like.
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What you’ll need
Blender
$40 At Amazon
Cast Iron Skillet
$30 At Amazon
Large Straight-Sided Skillet
$200 At Amazon
Ingredients
4–6 servings
1
1
3
1
2
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2
½
½
1
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Preparation
Step 1
Purée 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped, 1 plum tomato, coarsely chopped, 3 garlic cloves, one 1" piece ginger, scrubbed, and 2 red Thai chiles or 1 Fresno chile in a blender until smooth.
Step 2
Heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium. Add onion mixture and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until moisture is evaporated and mixture is paste-like in consistency and beginning to stick to bottom of skillet, 12–16 minutes.
Step 3
Stir in ½ tsp. ground coriander, ½ tsp. ground cumin, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Pour in one 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk and 2 cups water; stir to combine. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Add 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, sliced into ¼"-thick rounds, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10–12 minutes.
Step 4
Add 1 large bunch Swiss chard or Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped, and two 15-oz. cans butter, gigante, or cannellini beans, rinsed, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chard is wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice. Taste and add more kosher salt and/or lemon juice if needed.
Step 5
Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Working in 2 batches and adding 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil between batches, fry 1 baguette, sliced on a diagonal 1" thick, until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside.
Step 6
Divide stew among bowls. Season with flaky sea salt and drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with toasts.
Leave a Review
Reviews (39)
Back to TopWhy can't a trusted Bon Appétit publication not provide a better print function??? One-half of first page is blank. More often than not the last ingredient to print, on first page its not legible, with the print being split between the first and second pages. Majority of recipes require 3-5 pages, with lots of unrelated print on the last page. Also, why is there not a print option for review comments? YOU CAN DO BETTER.
Jay
USA
4/19/2024
I added a couple tablespoons of peanut butter to the sauce, which was delicious and I highly recommend. Also used already roasted sweet potato & butternut squash, and broth for the liquid.
Katherine
Burlington, Vt
4/5/2024
Excellent recipe. I subbed broth and added an extra can of gigante beans. Extremely satisfying.
Rachi
Miami
2/8/2024
Loved this- tons of flavor. I used light coconut milk, vegetable broth vs water and cubed the sweet potato as I thought it would be easier to eat in a soup vs slices. Fresno chili gave a good amount of heat so monitor that if you don't like spicy. Would definitely make again!
Mofro
Chicago
2/8/2024
My family adored this recipe. I’m going to try light coconut milk next time. Yum!
J. Angove
New York
2/7/2024
Made with one jalapeno pepper, a bit extra cumin and coriander, light coconut milk, and the larger sweet potato rounds cut into halves or quarters. Delicious and satisfying, but sauteing the onion-pepper puree in the pan created a large quantity of eye-stinging steam!
Rachel
Oakland, CA
2/6/2024
As long as we are asking for recipe form changes…add amounts of ingredients to the instructions. Writing the amounts next to the ingredients in the instructions would greatly improve the experience. Especially when using your phone, so you don’t have to scroll back and forth a million times while following the instructions to confirm the amounts.
Allyson Edwards
Nashville, TN
1/19/2024
Begging BA to allow recipes to print on one page. I'm a messy chef and hate using phone/ipad for recipes but the print function on these is so absurd I often skip in favor of NYT solely for this feature.
Anonymous
Seattle, WA
1/17/2024
This is very good. I'm writing this as I logged in to my email to print out the recipe so I can make again. It lasts for a few days. The flavors really bloomed after a day. Yummy. Don't forget the bread!
CMH
1/16/2024
Delicious! I will make this again.
NorCalNymph
Northern California
1/15/2024
Delicious! Subbed broth for water but otherwise made as written with one Fresno chile and kale. Might add another chile next time for more heat. Making the sort of curry paste at the start of the recipe was something I’ve never tried before, I will admit I was skeptical, but it turned out quite flavorful!
JJ
Brooklyn, NY
12/8/2023
Very nice. Used a garnet yam in rounds with the pretty skin left on. Cooked perfectly in the 12 minutes. I used three Tabasco chilies…we coulda had more. Might try the orange juice (in place of lemon) idea someone floated. We found one can of great northern beans was plenty. Used a bunch of curly kale. Will play around with this one again
A cook from Buffalo
BUFFALO, NY
11/7/2023
Great dish with lovely flavour, will definitely make this again. A touch of orange juice in this recipe really works.
Kambi Heywood
Cranbrook, BC
10/9/2023
We've made this several times. I is so delicious. Guests have commented on how good it is and it's pretty easy to prepare.
Lisa
Eugene OR
8/31/2023
This was really good! Followed recipe - I used two cans of Wegmans Bean Medley (Garbanzo, Cannellini, Borlotti and Butter Beans) and a jalapeno. I also lightlv mashed the sweet potatoes before adding the beans and kale and added a little bit of water to thin it a wee bit at the end. A keeper. Will definitely make again.
Jerri Lyn
Ellicott City, MD
4/10/2023