Recipe: African Peanut Soup

Recipe and photo by Andrew Hicks/Staff Writer

This soup is thick and hearty, almost like a stew. After making this a few times, I found I wanted a little more flavor, so I add 2 - 3 tablespoons of Berbere spice, which is a traditional Ethiopian fiery spice blend. Berbere is almost impossible to find locally, but it’s very simple to make. This dish is versatile so you can leave out the chicken and use vegetable broth for an easy meatless Monday! Speaking of chicken, if you do go the chicken route, a rotisserie chicken is perfectly fine for this dish.

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 tablespoons ginger, minced 1 jalapeño, diced (remove the seeds and ribs for less heat) 4 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon) 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons cumin 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes 4 cups chicken stock 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced 1 (14 oz) can chickpeas, drained 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter 4 cups kale, roughly chopped 1.5 lbs chicken, poached shredded 1 teaspoon salt (to taste) peanuts, crushed cilantro, chopped (optional) for garnish

This is a big soup so grab a hefty stock pot or dutch oven and add the oil and start to sauté onions over medium heat. Cook until onions start to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Next, add your remaining aromatics: ginger, garlic, jalapeño, salt, pepper, and cumin. Let the aromatics cook for a minute until the house starts to smell like garlic. Now add the tomato paste and cook until it becomes a deep red. About a minute or two.

Pour in the stock and using your spoon scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pot (those brown bits are called, fond, this is where all the flavor is at!). Now add the crushed tomatoes, chickpeas, and peanut butter. Reduce the heat and let this soup simmer on the stove for at least 20 minutes, but you could leave it sitting for as long as you like. Just remember to stir it occasionally so nothing burns.

Right before you are ready to serve, throw in the kale and chicken and cook just until the kale wilts, which will take a minute or two.

You can serve this dish as is or over rice. Garnish with cilantro and crushed peanuts.