Well, it’s happened. Our few, blissful weeks of cool, dry fall weather have turned abruptly into cold, wet, dreary pre-winter gloom. It’s just gross outside, and has been all week. Suddenly, my least-favorite thing to do is going outside, followed closely by looking out the window at the gloom. My new favorite thing to do is put on lots of sweaters and huddle on the sofa with a cup of tea and a warm cat.
But I can’t live on tea alone, and that’s why our ancestors invented stew.
Stew is typically a meaty dish, but it can easily be made vegetarian and it’s just as warm and satisfying. It’s also a good clean-out-the-fridge dish, as it’s very forgiving, and the balance of flavors it usually less important than just having lots of hearty things in it.
Still, I’m proud of the stew I whipped up the other day – I think it came together with a lot of personality, and is different enough from the average stew to merit special recognition. It’s loosely inspired by some West African recipes I’ve eaten and/or read, but doesn’t really follow any cooking tradition. The choice of ingredients (especially the peanut butter) was guided partly by my imagination of what flavors might be nice, but equally as much by the fact that I was craving peanut butter that day. It worked well.
The following “recipe” is more like a guideline – I lost track of how much of some things I put in, or how long they cooked, but like I said, you’ll find it pretty forgiving.
Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Stew
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon (or more) minced ginger
- 3 cups warm vegetable stock
- 1 cup warm water
- Two small or one large sweet potato, diced
- 1 can chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons brown rice
- 2 tablespoons peanuts
- 1/4 cup (or more) chunky peanut butter
- lemon juice, salt, and pepper (to taste)
Heat the olive oil in a large pot, and saute the garlic and ginger until the garlic begins to brown.
Add the water and stock, and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, then add the sweet potato, chickpeas, rice, and peanuts. Let it simmer half-covered for about an hour, until the rice is done and the sweet potato is falling apart.
Add the peanut butter and stir to dissolve. Mash some of the sweet potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken the stew.
Simmer a few more minutes, then taste and add lemon juice, salt, and pepper as needed.
Serve piping hot and enjoy!