African Nut-Butter Stew

This is a recipe that is found, in one form or another, in a number of West African cultures. The traditional dish is a stew primarily with tomatoes and ground nuts. This particular incarnation probably deviates somewhat from tradition, but it sure is tasty.

Also included here is a recipe for 10-minute vegetable broth. Highly convenient if you don't have any stock around the house. Chicken broth would work here, too, and I've seen this soup prepared with chicken (or other meat, like mutton or lamb) as well.


[Probably enough for at least 6 servings, but who knows.]
Ingredients

1 small onion
1 large red pepper
3-4 cloves garlic
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes (do not drain them!)
6 cups vegetable broth (see 10 minute broth recipe below)
1/3 cup uncooked rice
~1 cup unsweetened nut butter (I used almond)

Directions

To make vegetable broth: Chop up 1-2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1-2 onions, and 1-2 garlic cloves, or run them through the food processor until they're coarsely processed/grated. Heat oil in a saucepan, throw everything in, and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, boil 6 cups of water. Pour water over the veggies and return to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer another 5 minutes. Now strain and you have vegetable broth.

Finely chop up onion, pepper, and garlic. Heat oil in a dutch oven or saucepan. Throw in onions, pepper, and garlic for a few minutes, browning the onions a bit. Pour in tomatoes and broth and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Now add the rice and simmer until it is cooked through, another 20-30 minutes. Whisk in nut butter, return to simmer, and serve.

Variation: Try adding peas to the soup. Wait until the very end to add them in. We've been storing the soup in the freezer, adding the peas to the portion we're reheating in the pot.