west african peanut soup with rice

West African |Peanut Soup from Dave and Maria's "Eat It" Cookbook

I'd give it 3+ stars.

I made this to share with Anjarwalas after they returned from safari in Kenya--I thought it would be fun to have an African theme, and it fit with Dick's vegan diet.  I'd tasted it a long time ago at the home of somebody entertaining guests from Kenya, liked it then, and wanted to try it. I made it exactly like the recipe and liked the taste, but got it a bit hot. I put in some extra PB, tomato sauce and broth. Also, next time I would use tomato paste,--I had the sauce nandy and was out of paste Next time I would wait to put in the hot sauce. Also, the onions seemed undercooked right up to when I dished it up at the table. I guess that's okay but I might saute then a little in the beginning just to avoid any chance of an onion-y bite.

I served it with a seedy sourdough baguette and Dave's 22-grain bread, toasted., with a side salad and chocolate banana bread for dessert.

I served this the second time with a brown and wild rice pilaf I needed to use up (plus I didn't have brown handy). The flavor was fine and I had the soup spiced up with hot sauce to the point it needed that un-hot balance. I thought the whole thing was fine, and Nadia seemed really to enjoy hers! Usually she likes her food carefully separated these days and she seemed to enjoy dumping her rice, spoon by spoon, into the soup. I guess she has quite a tolerance for hot spices anyway, according to her Dada.

So here is the recipe:

6 c low sodium broth
l medium red onion chopped
2 T fresh ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used 4 1/2 cubes TJs frozen cubes)
1 tsp salt
1 bunch collard greens (or kale) with stalks removed, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used a combination of kale, spinach and chard, chopped)
3/4 cup unsalted peanut butter, chunky or smooth (I used smooth)

optional: 1/4 to 1/2 c tomato paste (I used tomato sauce because it was on hand--1/3 cup to begin with, then I added 2 tbsp)

Hot sauce ( used Tapico Sauce Piquant)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts for garnish

In a medium Dutch oven or stock pot, bring the broth to a boil.  Add the onion, ginger, garlic and salt. Cook on medium low heat for 20 minutes.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the PB and tomato paste, if using.  Transfer 1 to 2 cups of the hot stock to the bowl and mix until smooth.  Pour the peanut mixture into the pot and mix well. Stir in the greens and season with hot sauce to taste. Simmer for about 15 minutes more on medium-low heat, stirring often.

Serve over brown rice.