Peanut Soup

In my distant youth, I loved peanut soup. When my cravings for that kicked in this week, I was certain we couldn't have it. Surely it had cream and other bad, delightful things in it. I was wrong. I found multiple recipes, and only Emeril's had cream. This version was fairly easy to make and fairly quick - and I thought it was pretty good. Note that sweet potato is often used in these soups. I think we will try that next time.  -Dan

West African Peanut Soup

(Found on CookieandKate.com)

This West African peanut soup recipe is a creamy and comforting, spicy vegan soup. Made with a simple combination of peanut butter, tomato paste and collard greens, this soup comes together quickly and would be a great weeknight meal. If you love spicy flavors like me, don’t hesitate to use liberal amounts of ginger and garlic.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bunch collard greens (or kale), ribs removed and leaves chopped into 1-inch strips
• ¾ cup unsalted peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
• ½ cup tomato paste*
• Hot sauce, like sriracha (AKA rooster sauce)
• ¼ cup roughly chopped peanuts, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 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.
2. In a medium-sized, heat-safe mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and tomato paste, then transfer 1 to 2 cups of the hot stock to the bowl. Whisk the mixture together until smooth, then pour the peanut mixture back into the soup and mix well. Stir in the collard greens and season the soup with hot sauce to taste.
3. Simmer for about 15 more minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often. Serve over cooked brown rice if you’d like, and top with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.

NOTES

• Adapted from Local Bounty: Vegan Seasonal Recipes by Devra Gartenstein.
• *The cookbook author suggested that 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes is a suitable substitution for the tomato paste, but commenters report that the crushed tomatoes produce a runny soup (unlike the thick soup shown here). I highly recommend using tomato paste if you can find it. I also recommend Muir Glen‘s organic tomato products—they come in BPA-free cans and seem to be readily available.
• Most African peanut soup recipes include sweet potatoes. I suppose you could toss in a chopped sweet potato when you bring the stock to a boil, but I liked the soup as is.