What Are Potato Leaves? The Sierra Leonean Sweet Potato Leaf Stew Explained
Potato leaves is a Sierra Leonean plasas of finely chopped sweet potato leaves simmered with palm oil, groundnut paste, meat and fish, served over rice. Here is what it is and how it is made.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Potato leaves, also called potato leaf stew or potato leaves plasas, is a much loved Sierra Leonean dish made from the tender leaves of the sweet potato plant, finely chopped and simmered into a thick, savoury stew. The greens are cooked slowly with red palm oil, groundnut (peanut) paste, onion and hot pepper, along with meat, fish and dried crayfish for depth, then served over rice. It is one of the classic everyday plasas, and in many homes it is the dish traditionally eaten on a Tuesday. It uses sweet potato leaves rather than cassava leaves, which sets it apart from other Sierra Leonean greens. In the UK the ingredients to make it are sold by African food shops, which you can find near you on African Stores.
What to remember
- Potato leaves is a Sierra Leonean plasas made from finely chopped sweet potato leaves.
- It is also called potato leaf stew or potato leaves plasas and is often eaten on Tuesdays.
- It is simmered with red palm oil, groundnut paste, onion, hot pepper, meat, fish and dried crayfish.
- It uses sweet potato leaves, unlike cassava leaves or krain krain, which come from different plants.
- It is served thick over rice as a hearty, everyday main dish.
A pot of potato leaves cooking slowly on the stove fills a Sierra Leonean kitchen with the deep, earthy smell of greens, palm oil and crayfish, a scent that means a proper meal is on the way. This is not a quick dish but a comforting one, the sort of plasas that turns an ordinary weekday into something to look forward to, especially on the Tuesdays when many families make it. Spooned generously over rice, it is the plate that brings everyone to the table.
There is something grounding about a dish built from the humble leaves of the sweet potato plant, turned patiently into something rich and nourishing. For Sierra Leoneans in Britain, potato leaves carries the taste of home in every mouthful, the palm oil and groundnut and pepper working together the way they always have. To cook a pot of it far from Freetown is to keep a little of that everyday warmth alive, and to share it is to pass it on.
What Potato Leaves Actually Is
Potato leaves is a traditional Sierra Leonean plasas, the word used across the country for a thick stew of pounded or finely chopped leafy greens cooked down with palm oil and rich seasonings. In this case the greens are the tender leaves of the sweet potato plant, which are chopped very finely and simmered slowly until they collapse into a dense, deep green stew. The result is savoury and satisfying, thickened further by groundnut (peanut) paste and enriched with red palm oil, and it is almost always served over a mound of plain rice.
The dish belongs to a whole family of West African greens dishes, and it sits comfortably alongside the other classics of Sierra Leonean food. Like other examples of plasas, it is built on the idea of transforming humble leaves into a hearty main by cooking them long and low with palm oil, aromatics and plenty of protein. What gives potato leaves its own identity is the specific green at its heart, the leaf of the sweet potato, and the particular balance of groundnut, pepper and crayfish that Sierra Leonean cooks bring to it.
How Potato Leaves Differs From Other Greens Dishes
It is easy to lump all the dark leafy stews of West and Central Africa together, but potato leaves is distinct, and the difference comes down to the plant. Potato leaves uses the leaves of the sweet potato, whereas cassava leaves is made from the leaves of the cassava plant and krain krain is made from jute leaves, which are quite different in taste and texture. Sierra Leonean cooks treat these as separate dishes with their own characters, even though they share the same plasas method of palm oil, groundnut and pepper.
There is also a wider point worth making, because potato leaves is sometimes confused with the Central African dish matembele, which is likewise made from sweet potato leaves. They come from the same plant, but they are not the same dish: potato leaves is the West African, Sierra Leonean version, cooked in the local plasas style with groundnut paste, crayfish and hot pepper, while matembele belongs to the kitchens of Central Africa and is prepared its own way. If you enjoy potato leaves you may also recognise its kinship with dishes like groundnut soup, which shares that same nutty, palm-rich foundation.
How Potato Leaves Is Made and Served
Making potato leaves begins with the greens, which are washed and then chopped very finely, the fineness being part of what gives the finished stew its dense, almost velvety texture. The leaves go into the pot with red palm oil, onion and hot pepper, and are cooked down slowly. Meat and fish are added, often together, along with dried crayfish, which brings the deep savoury note that defines so much Sierra Leonean cooking. Groundnut paste is stirred through to thicken and enrich the stew, and everything simmers until the flavours come together into something thick, dark and glossy. It is then served over rice.
A gentle note on ingredients is worth adding here, because potato leaves brings together several common allergens: it contains groundnut (peanut) in the paste, fish, shellfish in the form of dried crayfish, and red palm oil. Anyone cooking for guests should keep those in mind, and cooks can adjust the recipe by leaving out an ingredient where needed, though the flavour will change. The dish is naturally hearty and filling, and like many greens stews it is often enjoyed as part of a balanced everyday meal rather than a special-occasion one. Served hot over rice, sometimes with fufu alongside, it is comfort food at its most everyday.
Where to Buy Potato Leaves Ingredients in the UK
Potato leaves is a home-cooked dish, and gathering what you need for it in Britain is straightforward at African food shops. The sweet potato leaves themselves are the starting point, sold fresh or frozen and often already chopped, and around them you will want red palm oil, groundnut paste, dried crayfish, dried or smoked fish, onion and hot pepper such as scotch bonnet. Shops serving West African customers usually carry all of these together, which makes assembling a pot far easier than it might first seem. You can find African food stores near you to see what is nearby.
Frequently asked questions
What are potato leaves?
Potato leaves is a much loved Sierra Leonean dish made from the tender leaves of the sweet potato plant, finely chopped and simmered into a thick, savoury stew. It is cooked with red palm oil, groundnut paste, onion, hot pepper, meat, fish and dried crayfish, then served over rice. It is one of the classic everyday plasas and is often eaten on Tuesdays.
What is the difference between potato leaves and cassava leaves?
The difference is the plant. Potato leaves is made from the leaves of the sweet potato, while cassava leaves is made from the leaves of the cassava plant, and krain krain is made from jute leaves. Sierra Leonean cooks treat them as separate dishes with their own tastes and textures, even though they share the same plasas method of palm oil, groundnut and pepper.
Is potato leaves the same as matembele?
No, though the two are related. Both are made from sweet potato leaves, but potato leaves is the West African, Sierra Leonean dish, cooked in the local plasas style with groundnut paste, crayfish and hot pepper. Matembele is the Central African dish made from the same plant and prepared its own way, so they are distinct dishes from different regions.
How is potato leaves made?
The sweet potato leaves are washed and chopped very finely, then cooked down slowly with red palm oil, onion and hot pepper. Meat, fish and dried crayfish are added for depth, and groundnut paste is stirred through to thicken and enrich the stew. Everything simmers until thick and glossy, and it is served hot over rice.
Where can I buy potato leaves ingredients in the UK?
Potato leaves is made at home, so African food shops are the place to buy the ingredients: sweet potato leaves, often sold frozen and chopped, along with red palm oil, groundnut paste, dried crayfish, dried fish, onion and hot pepper. Shops serving West African customers usually stock all of these together. African Stores lists African and Caribbean food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you that stocks them.