West African Peanut Soup
A delicious, spicy West African peanut soup.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or other ground dried chiles or to taste
- 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger root
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 2 cups chopped sweet potatoes up to 1 cup white potatoes can be substituted
- 4 cups vegetable stock or water
- 2 cups tomato juice
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar optional
- 1 cup chopped scallions or chives
Instructions
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Saute the onions in the oil until just translucent.
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Stir in the cayenne and fresh ginger.
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Add the carrots and saute a couple more minutes.
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Mix in the potatoes and stock or water, bring the soup to a boil, and then simmer for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
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In a blender or food processor, puree the vegetables with the cooking liquid and the tomato juice. Return the puree to a soup pot.
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Stir in the peanut butter until smooth.
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Taste the soup. Its sweetness will depend upon the sweetness of the carrots and sweet potatoes. If it's not there naturally, add just a little sugar to enhance the other flavors.
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Reheat the soup gently, using a heat diffuser if needed to prevent scorching.
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Add more water, stock, or tomato juice for a thinner soup.
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Serve topped with plenty of chopped scallions or chives.
Recipe Notes
If you don't have a blender of sufficient size, or you desire a thicker soup, you can use a potato masher on the soup in the pot rather than pureeing the vegetables.
The last time I made this I used a bit of cayenne, a bit of chili powder, a bit of Louisiana Hot Sauce and a bit of Siracha. The mixture gave it a very good, slow-building heat.
Adapted from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant
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