Recipe: Mixed Sauteed Vegetables from Madagascar

Recipe Source: Samuelsson, Marcus.  The Soul of a New Cuisine.  John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, 2006 p. 193

This is the recipe for which I originally made the spice paste I posted recently, sakay.  While the presence of sakay is certainly noticeable in this dish, the dish itself isn't overwhelmingly hot.  It just adds enough heat that you feel really good at the end of the dish. 

You may notice some vegetables that are not usually part of my repertoire in the ingredients list.  Yes, I included the carrot, and I even cooked the beets.  I don't personally feel that the carrots added anything good to the dish, but their sweetness didn't distract from the other flavors and it didn't have a negative effect on the final product.  (Translation: I picked them out like a picky toddler.)  Since the beets aren't cooked for too long, the house didn't get that nasty cooking-beets smell that I abhor. 

Sauteed Mixed Vegetables from Madagascar (serves 8; approx. $1.44/serving)

3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into thin sticks about 2" long

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2" sticks

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 beets, peeled and cut into 2" long sticks (this will get messy.)

1 stick butter

1 onion, chopped

8 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon powdered saffron

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 pound fava beans (I used frozen, because that's what I could get)

6 scallions, trimmed and chopped

1 tablespoon sakay

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Juice of 2 lemons

Equipment:

• 2 saucepans
• Colander
• Large wok or saute pan

1. Fill both saucepans with salted water and bring to a boil.
2. Put the potatoes, carrots and cauliflower in one pot.  Put the beets in the second.
3. Boil 3 minutes for each pot.  Drain and set aside.  (It is important to blanch the beets separately, because otherwise the color would bleed all over the potatoes and cauliflower and they would lose their individual flavors.)  My advice would be to drain the beets first. 
4. Melt the butter in the saute pan. 
5. Add the onion and garlic.  Saute until the onion is translucent, 5 minutes or so. 
6. Add the ginger, saffron and coriander.  Saute, stirring often, until fragrant.
7. Add the vegetables.  Cook 15 minutes, or until tender. 
8. Add the fava beans, scallions and sakay.  Stir well to combine and cook until the fava beans are thoroughly heated. 
9. Remove from heat.  Stir in the parsley and lemon juice and serve. 

Comments

[Sophie]

Waw,..that dish sings to me!!!

Wow & you have used 1 tablespoon of sakay!! That's too much for me!!! I will use a bit less, but the dish looks so good!!

Yum Yum Yum!!!

[Madagascar Pictures]

Nice site, very informative...thanks for sharing!!!