Dinner: Groundnut Stew

Since my breakfast recipe is taking up nearly the whole sidebar, I've decided to post our dinner plans here. 

Have you ever had Groundnut Stew? It's an African Dish aka peanut soup. Super easy and suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper yummy if you, for example, are a peanut satay-sauce lover.

Here's the basic idea. Today I've made it in the crockpot.

- Brown whatever chicken you have in some butter for just a couple minutes on each side (I usually use either a whole chicken or thighs which have more flavor and stand up to long, slow cooking.)

- Add some chopped onion and garlic (1 or 2 onions, a few cloves...whatever with the exact measurements!) and sautee until tender (a couple minutes)

- If I have them, I also usually add some chopped bell peppers, carrots & celery to the sautee mixture; if you don't have it, don't sweat it but you know how it is: the more veggies, the better.

From here, you have a few options:

-If you want to make the whole thing stovetop, just do all the sauteeing in a stockpot and add the remaining ingredients, simmering for a few hours.

-If you're using the crockpot, I recommend greasing it and using the low setting for 6-8 hours.

- Either way, add your chicken, onions, garlic to the crockpot/pan

- Using an immersion blender (always my preference), a regular blender or a wire wisk and bowl, blend 1 cup peanut butter (I only use Jif chunky cause I wanna stay nice and chunky) with 2 cups boiling water or chicken broth and add to the chicken. (I often make double sauce cause it's sooo yummy.)

To that add:

- Asian Sweet chili sauce (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)

- 1/8 cup soy sauce 

- salt & pepper to taste

...and a few other options:

- Adding some coconut milk/cream will make your sauce richer 

- You can add a can of chopped tomatoes for a slightly more tangy version 

Then just let all this yummy goodness sit on a low boil/simmer for a few hours. If your sauce looks too thick, add some more chicken broth or water.

You can actually add rice to the stew and cook it directly in the sauce, but Mike adores rice plain so I usually serve atop rice in bowls.

A tangy cucumber salad goes really well with the reach peanut stew. (Thinly slice cucumbers using potato peeler and marinate in a 'dressing' made of vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper. Dressing should be tangy & sweet at the same time. Refrigerate.)

 Extremely simple, extremely good.