African yam bean

Sphenostylis stenocarpa

legume · root

Speckled seeds slow-cooked like beans, in stew or porridge, and tubers cooked like sweet potato.

Origin

West Africa (Nigeria)

Season (United States)

all year round

Preparation

The seeds are soaked overnight, then cooked for two to three hours until tender; the tubers are peeled and boiled for about twenty minutes. Neither is eaten raw. Soaking, sprouting or sourdough bring its phytates down — and release the zinc and iron they were holding.

Molecules

GOS (galacto-oligosaccharides) · ProteinIn small amounts, not counted Folates (B9) · Insoluble fibersWhat slows things down Phytates

Did you know?

It gives two harvests: pods above, tubers below.