Kenya - Safari Steak

Kenya offers one of the best safari adventures on the continent, and more. How about sunning on an Indian Ocean beach or trekking the glacial ridges of Mt Kenya? There’s a reason it’s one of Africa’s primary destinations. And, if we’re lucky while visiting, we’ll catch a glimpse of the magic of Africa.

Kenyan cuisine is influenced by East India and Great Britain, mixed with African dishes and tribal delicacies. Potatoes are a prominent feature and vegetable curry is very popular, as well as beef, chicken, goat and fish.

Ugali is the national dish, a cornmeal porridge. It is eaten by rolling it up in a ball and then dipping it into a sauce. It is inexpensive and easy to prepare, making it a common staple to most meals.

For out Kenyan meal, we did not have Ugali. Instead I made Safari Steak. It is steak served on a mixture of mashed potatoes and yams with a red wine sauce poured over it. It would have been tasty if I hadn’t gone to a bargain grocery store and bought low quality meat.

It served me right. I was too lazy to drive to Whole Foods to get quality organic meat.


Safari Steak

6 steaks
2 tsp oil
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup dessert wine
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 TBSP tomato paste mixed with 4 TBSP water
A mixture of mashed potatoes and yam
Bunch of parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a pan and season the steak with black pepper. Fry the steaks for 3 minutes per side, or until they are done to your liking, then place in the oven to keep warm. Lower the heat in the pan and add the wine and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, scraping the base of the pan to loosen any meat juices. The add the tomato paste mixture. Cook until the sauce is thick.

Mix the mashed yams and potatoes together and place the steaks on top and spoon the sauce over the steaks. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.