Let me just tell you how excited I am about this recipe… African Peanut Stew is something I’ve wanted to make for years and just never got around to it. I ran across yet another recipe for it the other day and decided to finally go for it. I was in the mood and I didn’t have plans to cook anything else, so why not?
As I was cooking this stew I got absolutely giddy with excitement. I love the ingredients. It starts with garlic and ginger (one of my all time favorite flavor combinations) and just piles on healthy ingredient after healthy ingredient, like sweet potatoes, collard greens, and tomato paste. It’s a rainbow of nutrients in one bowl and you can just feel the goodness. That’s how food should be—outstanding in both flavor and nutrition. This stew definitely makes the grade.
There are many different versions of peanut stew, so I pulled my favorite aspects from the many versions I’ve seen. I kept the base simple with just vegetable broth, tomato paste, and peanut butter. I went a little lighter on the PB to keep the stew a bit lighter, but if you prefer a thicker, peanutty-er flavor, you can always stir in more at the end. If you want a chunkier stew, try adding a can of diced tomatoes as well. I like my stew spicy, so I used both red pepper flakes and sriracha to garnish after cooking, but you can leave the stew 100% by skipping the red pepper. If you want something more protein filled, you can add shredded chicken and use chicken broth in place of the vegetable broth. And lastly, I was pleased to find collard greens were the least expensive green at my store this week, but if you can’t find collard greens you can use mustard greens or kale (go for the flat varietiy, lacinato or dino kale).
You can eat this stew on its own, or add a scoop of rice (I used brown jasmine rice) for more texture and filling power. I added peanuts as a garnish in the photo so that people would know what they are looking at, but they’re not necessary for the soup. I used chunky peanut butter and that provides all the peanut flavor and texture you’ll need.
African Peanut Stew (vegan)
4.7 from 11 reviews
African Peanut Stew (vegan)
Save PrintPrep time 10 mins
Cook time 45 mins
Total time 55 mins
Total Cost: $5.64 Cost Per Serving: $0.94 Serves: 6 (1.5 cups each)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil $0.02
- 4 cloves garlic $0.32
- 1 inch fresh ginger $0.15
- 1 medium (1 lb.) sweet potato $1.32
- 1 medium onion $0.42
- 1 tsp cumin $0.10
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper $0.02
- 1 (6oz.) can tomato paste $0.59
- ½ cup natural style chunky peanut butter $0.93
- 6 cups vegetable broth $0.81
- ½ bunch (2-3 cups chopped) collard greens $0.75
- ¼ bunch cilantro, garnish (optional) $0.21
Instructions
- Peel and grate the ginger using a small holed cheese grater. Mince the garlic. Sauté the ginger and garlic in vegetable oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic becomes soft and fragrant.
- Dice the onion, add it to the pot, and continue to sauté. Dice the sweet potato (1/2 inch cubes), add it to the pot, and continue to sauté a few minutes more, or until the onion is soft and the sweet potato takes on a darker, slightly translucent appearance. Season with cumin and red pepper flakes.
- Add the tomato paste and peanut butter, and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Add the vegetable broth and stir to dissolve the thick tomato paste-peanut butter mixture. Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to high.
- While the soup is coming up to a boil, prepare the collard greens. Rinse the greens well, then use a sharp knife to remove each stem (cut along the side of each stem). Stack the leaves, then cut them into thin strips. Add the collard strips to the soup pot.
- Once the soup reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer without a lid for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are very soft. Once soft, smash about half of the sweet potatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to help thicken the soup. Taste the soup and add salt if needed (will depend on the brand of broth used).
- Serve the stew hot with a few cilantro leaves if desired.
Notes Mustard greens or lacinato kale can be used in place of the collard greens.
3.2.2708
And that’s it! You can serve it up as is, add some fresh cilantro (because peanut cilantro=awesome), or even add a dash of sriracha. I like to add a scoop of brown jasmine rice, but that’s just me. :) The post African Peanut Stew (vegan) appeared first on Budget Bytes.