Poulet Mafé
In Senegal at the Keur Moussa monastery, a typical meal includes poulet mafé, a thick peanut sauce with chicken, root vegetables, and cabbage served over rice, fonio, or millet couscous. For chef Pierre Thiam, poulet mafé is the ultimate comfort food. His advice: “Be patient when cooking mafé. Let the stew simmer slowly until the oil rises to the surface.” Creamy peanut butter adds body and nuttiness to this savory chicken dish, balancing the aromatic ginger, garlic, and tomato paste. Thiam's version uses fish sauce, which brings a subtle umami that adds complexity to the stew.
The Food & Wine Guide to Clay Pot Cooking
Bringing the ancient cooking medium home to the modern kitchen.
Hunter’s Stew with Duck Legs and Cannellini Beans
Bowls of this hearty stew, filled with cannellini beans, gold potatoes, and duck meat, are served with toasted baguette to soak up the delicious broth. If duck stock and legs are unavailable, substitute chicken stock and legs, or make your own duck stock by following this recipe.
Hunter’s Sausage-and-Sauerkraut Stew
This Polish “hunter’s stew” typically combines at least three different meats, from wild game to pork ribs, sausages, and veal. Chef Andrew Zimmern uses lightly smoked bacon, chicken thighs, and kielbasa in his version. He also adds roasted bell peppers for depth, buttery chanterelles, and crisp-tender fennel. The stew simmers with fermented sauerkraut, another traditional element. “Thankfully,” says Zimmern, “[the sauerkraut] is available in almost any supermarket you walk into.” Slideshow: More Stew Recipes
Shellfish Stew
This shellfish stew was inspired by the foundational Japanese stock, dashi. Though it contains neither kombu nor katsuobushi, the stock gets its minerality from charred onions, ginger, and garlic (a Mexican and Vietnamese technique) and oceanic umami from shrimp shells. Serve with classic aioli to enrich the finished stew. Slideshow: More Hearty Stew Recipes
