Spicy African Peanut Stew

TGIF! This title may be a little intimidating for some of you, but dare I say that this is one of the best stews I've ever made? No joke. It's absolutely delicious. I got the idea from Ashley and Mama Pea, but I only threw in stuff that I had on hand, so I made a lot of changes. The flavors are still there, though. I kept the spices the same. That's all that matters.

This stew can be made in the crock pot as well. Just throw everything in and let it simmer away for a few hours. That would have been nice, but I'm gone for 9 hours during the day, with no one to turn my crock pot on. Instead, I made it in my dutch oven and let it simmer for a couple hours while I did a pretty tedious task that I've been putting off......bathing my dogs.

You see, Cooper and Stella are NOT fans of baths. However, my Mom is coming tomorrow and is deathly allergic to dogs, so they needed to be cleaned and brushed. Big time. I even had to drain the water in between Coop and Stella's bath- that's how not clean he was. I felt really bad though. Because they hate it so much, they were both shaking while the water was running! Poor little things.

Not to mention, it takes Coop SO long to dry! Here he is about 2 hours later...

Stella looked all pretty, shiny and dry after about 30 minutes. Lucky dog. She loves to be under the dining room table with a bone...

Now on to the recipe! The original one calls for chick peas, diced tomatoes, lentils, and veggie stock. I had none of those things. I subbed out a zucchini, quinoa, tomato sauce, and chicken stock. It was still totally delicious! First, I sauteed an onion, 2 diced sweet potatoes, and my zucchini in some olive oil.

After about 7 minutes, I added in my spices. Garam Masala, curry powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Yum.

Next came the liquids. Tomato sauce and coconut milk first, then my chicken stock, quinoa and peanut butter.

I let this come to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduced it to med-low for an hour and a half. This is so, so good. I know the flavor profile seems strange, but trust me.

Not only is this an awesome stew, it super healthy and nutritious! Protein from the peanut butter and quinoa give you great energy, too.

SPICY AFRICAN PEANUT STEW

Adapted from Mama Pea!

2 sweet potatoes, cubed 

1 1/2 t. curry powder

1/2-3/4 t. garam masala (depending on how spicy you like it)

1 t. cumin

1 T. minced ginger

2 t. minced garlic

1 onion, diced 

1 zucchini, diced

1 can fire roasted tomatoes, in juice (or tomato sauce) 

1 can light coconut milk

2 c. vegetable stock (or chicken stock)

2 T. natural peanut butter  (I used 4)

1/2 c. red lentils, drained and rinsed (I substituted quinoa)

Saute onion, sweet potato, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add in all other ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes, then reduce to med-low and cover for an hour.

You can also pop all these ingredients into a crock pot and put it on high for 1 hour, and low for 3.

Comments

[Uncle John]

While I haven't tried this recipe yet (I'll be sure to) I've used a similar on from the Rotary collection that your grannie Kay had - it's good and yummy. And, you spoil my sister when she visits - I'd make her sleep with unwashed dogs just because! : )

Uncle John

[Beth]

Haha. I know, but I feel bad about the sneezing and wheezing.....it's not good. We have to lock her away upstairs!

[Tiay]

Look at that sweet face! One more day!!

[Brandon]

Thats a great pic of Coop..... but the poor dude looks like he just got worked over and is still in shock. Such a mean mama.

This dish is interesting, I like it. I also like the prosciutto on the egg sandwich. That's a good idea.

Hope all is well.

Late