Sukuma Wiki guest recipe by Russ Crandall the Domestic Man

I recently have had the pleasure to be in contact with Russ Crandall from thedomesticman.com! If you haven’t checked out his site yet, it’s a must see. He has a new book coming out too called

The Ancestral Table: Traditional Recipes for a Paleo Lifestyle. He agreed to give us an exclusive sneak peak into his book and is letting me feature a recipe!

I found this recipe to have flavors that I love! Don’t let the spices scare you off, because I use many of them in my book as well. If they do worry you, read this article. This recipe was easy to throw together as a tasty week night meal. I loved how healthy I felt after eating it. Both me and my fiance commented on how great we felt after eating such clean dish! The only change I made, was adding 3 pieces of chopped bacon in while sautéing the onion. Our grass fed beef is super lean and can turn out really dry if its not cooked with extra sauce or fat, so thats why we added the bacon. Also, I really enjoyed the tomatoes in the recipe and may have added a few more if I made it again.

Collard greens are very versatile and have been in use for at least 2,000 years; the ancient Greeks cultivated them along with kale. Sukuma wiki is the Swahili name for collard greens; it literally translates to “push/stretch the week.” As the name implies, collards are available year-round in East Africa and are used to stretch out meals to last all week.

In the culinary world, sukuma wiki is a common name for a Kenyan dish of braised collard greens, usually prepared with ground meat, tomatoes, and onions. I love this dish because it’s a breeze to put together and an easy way to put something that tastes slightly exotic on the table on short notice. Make sure to prep your ingredients ahead of time, as this dish comes together quickly.

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped

1 lb. ground beef or lamb

1/2 tsp. each black pepper,ground cinnamon, ground ginger,

ground fennel seeds,and turmeric

1 tsp. each sea salt, ground cumin, and ground coriander

1 bunch collard greens (about

8 leaves), stems removed, sliced into 1″ strips

1 large handful (12-15) cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1 tsp. lemon juice

1. Warm the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat, then add the onion. Saute the onion until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and jalapeño and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ground beef and seasonings,and cook until only slightly pink, about 6 minutes; stir frequently so the ground beef doesn’t clump.

2. Add the collard greens and tomatoes and saute. until the collard greens are wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir everything gently as it cooks, being careful not to mush the tomatoes. Add the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.