(5) Guinea – Kansiyé

Another day, another African country! For the fifth country we arrive in the Republic of Guinea (not where guinea pigs originate as some may believe). Guinea is full of lush landscapes filled with 800 ft waterfalls, vast mountain ranges, and delicious food. This country is located along the western coast of Africa and is home to several natural resources such as gold, diamonds, and iron.

Mount Nimba, Guinea – flickr image

The center of Guinean cooking is the rice, however depending on where you are in the country the sauce can differ. Along with the rice and sauce sometimes the dishes will contain various meats such as lamb, beef or fish. Kansiyé is a flavorful stew served over rice. The version I am making today will have lamb, but there are vegetarian varieties which substitute lentils instead. I’m not going to lie- I’m loving these recipes with peanut butter in them!

The recipe I used today can be found here. To thicken the stew I used cornstarch, but otherwise followed the recipe to a T. I was curious how the tomato and peanut butter flavors were going to taste together, but we were pleasantly surprised! The meal reminded me of something you would eat in colder seasons or as a comfort food. It was creamy and lighter than I thought it would be. We felt it could have used more seasoning and due to that we rated it 6/10.

And that concludes week two! The next country on our list is Canada which we will spend a week exploring. I can’t wait to make some traditional meals that my family has made for generations!