First off, let me apologize. I hit the wall this weekend. Like, I literally did nothing. I can’t remember the last time I vegged out and watched a couple of movies in the same day, but, I somehow managed to watch 5 on Saturday. I ordered take out a couple of times AND went out to dinner last night. Super, duper, lazy. On top of running out of time last week to do one of my recipes, I guess there’s always Southern Food Day in 2022, I had a dish in the can which I totally forgot to post yesterday. I think I just had to reboot this weekend. But, that gave you plenty of time to make my buttercrunch from the other day...and, to make it up to you, a first. I present to you a playlist to go along with your meal preparation/dining experience along with what was supposed to go up yesterday in honor of National Peanut Butter Day: peanut butter soup!
Peanut butter soup?!?! I know, just hear me out for a minute. I went into this one like: is this really going to work? But, my fiancé reminded me I had done another African dish which incorporated peanut butter. That dish was tasty on its own merits, but the peanut butter was somewhat of a last-minute throw in as a thickener with some potatoes. This one really gives you some clean peanut flavor and is much healthier with greens, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. It’s even kid-approved! So, let’s journey back to the African continent and chow down on some delicious warm soup on a cold winter day. As it’s national soup month, I’ll have another quick, delicious soup for you later this week, so stay tuned!
Ok...you ready? Hit play and start getting your ingredients together (a glass of white wine would be nice, too) and right around the time you hear Babatunde Olatunji shout out “Jin Go La Ba” (“do not worry”) your soup will probably nearly be done and it’ll be a good call to your kids, or whomever, to start setting the table. The songs from that point on are a bit more relaxed so you and your guests can sit back and enjoy this delicious and vibrant soup.
Peanut Butter Soup
West African Peanut Soup with Chicken, adapted from NY Times Cooking, Mark Bittman
If you’re making this in the fall (or even late summer), go ahead and use fresh tomatoes. But, canned ones definitely work best in the winter/spring months.
¾ cup salted roasted peanuts
2 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
Onion, medium-dice
1 tbsp minced, fresh ginger
3 minced garlic cloves
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into rough 1-inch chunks
Cayenne pepper
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
2 small/medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick slices
28 oz can peeled whole tomatoes, drained (or 6-8 ripe plum tomatoes)
1 bunch of collard greens
⅓ cup peanut butter (or more, to your liking)
Pulse the peanuts 3-5 one-second pulses in a mini-prep (or chop with a knife or smash on a cutting board under a heavy skillet), until chopped roughly and set aside.
In a medium or large pot, heat the oil over medium. Once warmed, add the onion, garlic and ginger, with a pinch of salt, stirring frequently to avoid burning the ginger/garlic, for a few minutes. Then season the chicken with kosher salt and black pepper and stir into the pot for an additional few minutes, until taking color.
Add ½ cup of the peanuts and a pinch of cayenne. Add the stock/water and sliced potatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low to bring to a slow, steady simmer.
Meanwhile, clean and slice the collards into large 2-inch wide ribbons and slice them in half. Add the drained tomatoes and kale to the pot of simmering soup. Stir occasionally, cooking for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are just relenting to a knife poke.
Stir in the peanut butter, slowly and carefully to not break up the potatoes. Once fully incorporated, taste to see if you want more peanut butter in the soup and to adjust salt and pepper, as needed. If you add more peanut butter, do so 1 tablespoon at a time so it won’t take over the flavor balance of the soup.
Serve in bowls and sprinkle with remaining chopped peanuts.
______________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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