“My mum spent many summers in Sierra Leone, where her dad comes from, and this peanut stew was one of her favourite dishes,” explains plant-based food blogger Rachel Ama. “She usually had it with chicken, but when I made this plant-based version for her to try, she had the biggest smile on her face.
“This recipe is a definite winner in our house, perfect for when you want a really hearty and comforting dinner with a nice touch of spice to set your taste buds tingling. My favourite way to eat this is with plantains and coleslaw.”
Vegan African peanut stew
Equipment
- Food processor
- Heavy based saucepan or shallow frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 - 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 500 g sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 400 g tinned black-eyed peas drained and rinsed
- 1/2 fresh red Scotch bonnet chilli (optional) dessed and kept whole
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 400 g chopped tinned tomatoes
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 125 g natural smooth peanut butter
- 200 g spinach chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped
- 2 spring onions finely chopped
- 1 fresh red chilli deseeded and finely sliced
- Salt and black pepper
For the paste:
- 2 onions roughly chopped
- 5 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- Thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground fenugreek
- 1/2 - 1 fresh red Scotch bonnet chilli (to taste) deseeded and roughly chopped
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Place all the paste ingredients in a food processor and blitz into a coarse paste.
- Heat one tablespoon of the peanut oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan or shallow frying pan. Add the paste and sauté over a medium–low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little more oil if the paste starts to stick to the pan.
- Add the sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, Scotch bonnet chilli (if using – see introduction) and tomato purée and mix to combine. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and vegetable stock, add the peanut butter, season with salt and pepper and stir in well. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach, leaving it to wilt in the pan for five minutes. To finish, add the lemon juice, coriander, spring onions and sliced chillies and check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
Nutrition
Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats: Tasty Plant-based Recipes For Every Day by Rachel Ama, photography by Haarala Hamilton, is published by Ebury.
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