This is my take on the classic West African groundnut stew traditionally made with chicken, peanuts and tomatoes across Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone etc. I’ve adapted this recipe from ‘The Groundnut Cookbook’ and its deliciously delicious.
A vibrant, colourful and nutritious vegan friendly dish (good for us meat eaters too). We have to get those veggies in too, right?
This vegan version is packed with plant power – baby spinach, sweet potato and red pepper. It’s all good baby! Serve with wild rice, plantain on the side and sprinkle over some crushed peanuts.
The original recipe can be found here and whilst it’s not an entirely authentic groundnut stew this one is super quick and easy to make. I like it because it’s proper comfort food. Make a batch on the weekend, curl up and eat it in front of your favourite film.
Vegan groundnut stew
This is my take on the classic West African groundnut stew traditionally made with chicken, peanuts onions, and tomatoes across Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone etc. I’ve adapted this recipe from ‘The Groundnut Cookbook’ and it’s so delicious. This vegan version is packed with plant power – baby spinach, sweet potato and red pepper. Serve with wild rice, plantain on the side and sprinkle over some crushed peanuts. Perfect for a lazy weekend.
- 3 large sweet potatoes (600g), peeled and cubed
- 3 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 large red pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 500ml organic vegetable stock
- 125g smooth peanut butter
- 1 scotch bonnet chilli
- 100ml water
- 200g baby spinach
- salt
- wild rice – to serve (optional)
- 1 large plantain, cut into 1 cm diagonal slices fried – to serve (optional)
- crushed peanuts – to serve (optional)
Peel and chop the sweet potato into 2-3cm chunks. Place in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion, garlic, salt, black pepper white pepper and sauté for 3 minutes over a medium heat. Add the tomato puree and stir for a couple minutes further.
Add the sweet potato, red pepper, vegetable stock, peanut butter and scotch bonnet (pierce the chilli for extra heat) stir well ensuring the peanut butter has completely dissolved. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add some water if the sauce gets too thick.
Remove the scotch bonnet chilli. Add the baby spinach and simmer for 5 minutes or until the sweet potato is easily pierced by a knife.
Serve with wild rice, fried plantain and top with crushed peanuts*.
*This dish can definitely be made without the plantains or rice as it’s pretty carb heavy. To crush the peanuts just put them in a small ziplock bag and smash with a rolling pin.
