Soô de matabala

🥣 Matabala and smoked fish simmered with tomato, leaves and red palm oil. This accessible adaptation uses spinach.

Ingredients

• 800 g edible matabala, peeled weight, or food-grade taro as a substitute
• 400 g smoked fish requiring cooking, carefully deboned
• 2 ripe tomatoes, about 300 g
• 1 medium onion, about 150 g
• 150 g edible leafy greens; spinach in this adaptation
• 45 ml food-grade red palm oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole small chilli, optional
• 700 ml water initially, adjusted as needed
• Black pepper and salt only after tasting the fully cooked broth

Preparation

Check the fish, remove tough skin and bones, then divide into pieces. If very salty, follow the supplier’s refrigerated desalting instructions.

Peel the edible matabala, using gloves if needed, rinse and cut into 3 cm cubes. Wash and chop leaves, slice onion and chop tomatoes.

Warm palm oil gently. Cook onion for 5 minutes, add tomatoes and bay leaf, then soften for another 5 minutes without smoking the oil.

Add fish, greens, optional chilli and 700 ml water. Bring to a simmer, then add matabala. The liquid should nearly cover the cubes; add water if needed.

Simmer partially covered for 30–35 minutes until cubes crush easily. Continue longer if firm. The fish must also be fully cooked throughout.

Stir gently from the bottom to preserve pieces. Add hot water if the sauce thickens before the tuber is completely cooked.

Taste only after complete cooking; adjust salt and pepper. Remove bay and whole chilli. Rest 5 minutes and serve hot with a loose sauce.