Sunday, March 1, 2015

Vegetarian West African Peanut Soup

For the frigidly cold New York days and nights we've been having, warm soup is a must-have. While this soup sounds a little odd (peanut butter? plus kale?), it's absolutely delicious. I mean, I'm a sucker for anything peanut butter, but even Brandon agrees that this is now a staple.















Here's the recipe!

Vegetarian West African Peanut Soup

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
  • 3/4 cup unsalted peanut butter 
  • 1/2 cup tomato paste
  • Hot sauce (we like sriracha) 
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped peanuts, for garnish 
Instructions:
  1. In a medium 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. Mix the mixture together until smooth, then pour the peanut mixture back into the soup and mix well. Stir in the collard greens, or kale, and season the soup with hot sauce to taste. Simmer for about 15 more minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often. Serve over cooked brown rice if you'd like (we actually used white basmati last night, and it was fab), and top with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts. 
This is such a wonderful weeknight meal - it's easy, super tasty and yields enough for another night of leftovers (and there's nothing better than leftover soup). 

Enjoy!