West African Peanut Soup
I love Fall! And, although I hate that time is passing by so fast, once we hit Labor Day, I’m ready for it. I love the cooler temperatures when you have to wear a lightweight sweater (and in Michigan, those temps are coming earlier this year). I love the excitement in the air when students begin a promising new year…new classes, new friends, new experiences…especially in a college town like ours. All those kids on their own for the first time…it holds a little bit of the “Yikes!” factor, but still I love seeing the look of hope, and yes, freedom in their eyes.
As I mentioned last time, I’m trying to move into a vegetarianish diet, and since our mornings and nights have been a little chilly, I started thinking about my favorite comfort food …soup. Yes, I know…my last post was a soup…I like soup a lot! So I started looking for new recipes and found this one. It was intriguing because I have never made soup with peanut butter before, and I have never cooked collard greens, so I wanted to try it.
A few notes before you begin:
- Don’t tell any of your vegetarian friends, but if you don’t have vegetable broth, and you aren’t really trying to become a vegetarian, you could substitute chicken broth.
- Also, if you aren’t a collard greens fan, you can substitute kale, although I don’t see much difference in taste or texture, so use either.
- I am not a big fan of hot sauce, so I used a couple dashes of cayenne pepper, but if you like sriracha, use that instead.
- If you like chunky peanut butter, use it. You can also add chopped peanuts, for garnish.
West African Peanut Soup
Ingredients:
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into bite-sized cubes
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 bunch collard greens (or kale), ribs removed and leaves chopped into 1-inch strips
- 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- Dash or two cayenne pepper
Steps:
- In a medium stock pot, bring the broth to a boil.
- Add sweet potato, onion, ginger, garlic, and salt. Cook on medium-low for 20 minutes.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl (glass or metal), combine the peanut butter and tomato paste, then transfer 1 – 2 cups of the hot stock into the bowl. Whisk the mixture together until smooth.
- Pour the peanut mixture back into the soup and mix well.
- Stir in the collard greens and season the soup with the cayenne pepper, to taste.
- Simmer for about 15 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often.
- Serve over cooked brown rice, and top with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts, if you like.
Enjoy!
Dugan's Kitchen 