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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
Author Nancy Lazarus

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

  1. Saute the onions in the oil until just translucent.
  2. Stir in the cayenne and fresh ginger.
  3. Add the carrots and saute a couple more minutes.
  4. 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.
  5. In a blender or food processor, puree the vegetables with the cooking liquid and the tomato juice. Return the puree to a soup pot.
  6. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth.
  7. 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.
  8. Reheat the soup gently, using a heat diffuser if needed to prevent scorching.
  9. Add more water, stock, or tomato juice for a thinner soup.
  10. 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