Table for One - Peanut Stew

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Nov 5th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Photo: Sarah LeTrent.

Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."

When we think of peanuts, we think Virginia, ballgames and a top hat-wearing, cane-holding, monocled mascot. However, peanuts are also a staple in West African cooking and used prominently in many dishes. One such typical meal is a hearty stew made with tomatoes, sweet potatoes and peanuts.

This vegetarian version of the soup relies on the saltiness and creaminess of peanut butter -- the pantry staple and venerated American spread that is an often unsung hero in meals that don't include jelly or two slices of bread.

Presenting a new (and more acceptable) way to eat peanut butter by the spoonful.

Find the Peanut Stew recipe after the jump.

Peanut Stew

1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 serrano pepper, sliced (omit or substitute cayenne if heat-sensitive)
1 sweet potato, peeled and thickly julienned
2-3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

Roughly crush or chop the peanuts.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Add crushed peanuts and season with salt and pepper.

Add the stock and the sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, turn the heat down to medium and stir in the tomatoes.

Stir in peanut butter until combined. Serve garnished with remaining peanuts, slices of serrano pepper and a piece of flat bread.

Find out which peanut butter brand Slashfood rated highest in our PB Taste Test.

What are your favorite uses for peanut butter? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Features
Tags: african recipes, AfricanRecipes, peanut butter, peanut stew, PeanutButter, peanuts, PeanutStew, salads, soup, stews, sweet potatoes, SweetPotatoes, table for one, TableForOne, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-05-2009 @7:10PM Unplanned Cooking said... Yum! I have never made (or had) peanut stew, but I enjoy eating peanut sauce. I will have to add this recipe to my list of ones I intend to try.
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11-05-2009 @7:32PM Julie said... I love using peanut butter in many dishes, I especially love it used in chili. I also love tripe and there is this African version that uses a sauce of chili's and peanut butter to cook the tripe in, it is wonderful. I just always make sure that I let people know ahead of time about the peanut butter in case they are allergic.
http://www.noshtalgia.blogspot.com/
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11-06-2009 @12:03AM Megan said... "Presenting a new (and more acceptable)"

Peanut soup has been popular for a long time where I'm from, in south east Virginia
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11-06-2009 @7:30AM Gobo said... Hey shoe-spammers, this is a food blog. Piss off.
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11-06-2009 @12:54PM LinC said... It's no use trying to talk to spammers. They don't come back to look at their posts. Instead, click the gray exclamation point (!) icon on their posts to report them. The Slashfood people will take care of them. Shoe spam all gone.
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12-01-2009 @8:10PM octovus said... Yummy! Just made this together tonight. We used crushed tomatoes, probably half a can, in place of fresh ones; doubled the recipe but used just 1 sweet potato, the ones you had must have been small because 2 would be way too much with the size most stores here in Ontario carry; and used natural crunchy peanut butter, no added salt or sugars. Turned out great and very filling! Definitely a full dinner when served w a sandwich.
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