Ravitoto sy Henakisoa

Ingredients

• 700 g pork belly or shoulder, in 4 cm pieces
• 500 g pounded cassava leaves, fresh or frozen
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 cm fresh ginger, grated
• 400 ml water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 200 ml coconut milk (optional)
• 1 tbsp sakay chilli paste, to serve
• steamed rice, to serve

Before you cook

• Cut the pork into 4 cm pieces, leaving the fat on
• If using fresh cassava leaves, strip them from the stalks, wash them well and pound them in a mortar or mince them until they are a fine green pulp
• If using frozen pounded leaves, thaw them completely and drain off the water
• Chop the onion and garlic and grate the ginger

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat.
2. Brown the pork on all sides for about eight minutes, letting the fat render out into the pot.
3. Add the chopped onion and cook for six minutes, until it softens in the pork fat.
4. Stir in the garlic and ginger and fry for one minute.
5. Pour in 250 ml of the water, cover the pot, and simmer the pork for thirty minutes until tender.
6. Add the pounded cassava leaves and stir until every strand is coated in the fat.
7. Pour in the remaining water so the leaves are just submerged.
8. Season with the salt and pepper and bring the pot back to a simmer.
9. Cover and cook for thirty-five minutes, stirring every ten minutes, until the leaves are very soft and dark with no raw grassy taste left.
10. Stir in the coconut milk if you are using it and simmer uncovered for five minutes.
11. Cook off any remaining liquid until the mixture is thick rather than soupy.
12. Serve over hot rice with a spoonful of sakay on the side.