*Taps Music Stand*

*Signals to Chorus*

“MAAAAAAAAA-DAGASCAR Where The Lemurs Come Roaring Off The Plains!”

ahem.

That is probably not how that goes.  I don’t think lemurs can roar.

But they are strictly confined to the island of Madagascar.  When Leigh and I were first dating, over twenty years ago (twenty…? Jesus Christ…), we somehow managed to gift each other not one but TWO stuffed lemurs, which we still have to this very day.  Their names are Chocolate and Vanilla.

Oddly, despite the fact that the island is known for it, we managed not to include any actual vanilla in this meal.  Then again, we didn’t include any lemur either, so there you are.

We should really get on with this.  There are 17 “M” countries, so there’s no time to waste.

So what are we actually making?  The most plausible candidate for a national dish of Magadascar as far as I can tell is Romazava, a dish of zebu meat containing anamalaho greens.  Neither of which are we going to be able to acquire, so that’s off to a good start!

Zebu is at least just a type of cattle, so we’ll be fine there just using beef.  Anamalaho, on the other hand, is sort of key, since it imparts a numbing spice similar to Sichuan pepper.  Given that we’re not going to be getting that either, we used dandilion greens, on the theory that they would give a somewhat peppery flavor.  In addition, we mixed in spinach and watercress, as suggested by our recipe source.

Past that, it’s a pretty standard beef stew. We do, of course, begin by chopping and sauteeing an onoin.  It’s the law.  Here is stock onion frying photo #34591:

You then brown the beef for a bit with the onions, then toss in a mix of ginger, garlic, green chili, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.  Simmer for a while, then add water, and let it braise with the greens for an hour.

Bim bam, easy.  What about a side dish?  We give you Lasary Voatabia – the world’s least complicated salad.  Tomatoes, scallions, salt, and hot sauce of your choice.

Gotta remember this one – it is ludicrously easy and really good.

And here’s our meal, along with a pile of basmati rice for serving.  (Apparently rice with EVERYTHING is the norm in Madagascar.)

Doesn’t that look tasty?  Unlike a number of the other African stews we’ve made where we committed to using the RIGHT leaves, at the expense of dealing with them frozen, here we used fresh leaves.  This may not have been perfectly authentic, but oh my goodness – the improvement in texture is SO worth it.

And this meal was great!  The stew was well seasoned, the peppery greens had lots of personality, even after the long cook time, and hotsauce tomatoes were a great side.  We don’t do a lot of these meals on weeknights, but this one posed no difficulties at all.

Next up, Malawi!

Recipes:
Romazava
Lasary Voatabia