African Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, chopped
3 large celery stalks, chopped
3 medium carrots
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
5 to 6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons pepper
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
vegetable stock, as needed
1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, crushed
1 bunch cilantro
1. Begin by heating a sauce pan to medium heat. When the pan is ready, add the oil and wait several seconds for it to warm. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the onions appear translucent. When the onions are ready, add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes until it becomes fragrant. Finally, add the curry and cayenne, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute.
2. Transfer the cooked onions and garlic to a large pot, then add the chopped sweet potatoes, celery, carrots, and peeled tomatoes. Add enough water to the pot so that the vegetables are submerged beneath about 1" water. Set heat to high and boil for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and a broth has been created.
3. Let broth and vegetables cool then add to blender or food processor, along with peanut butter. Process until smooth. Transfer blended ingredients back into a pot and heat on medium until the soup is warm. Add vegetable broth to thin mixture, if desired.
4. Garnish soup with chopped, fresh cilantro and the crushed peanuts. Serve warm and enjoy!
Source of recipe: I found this recipe at www.allrecipes.com and changed very little. This soup is fantastic, however not as easy as the "Easy West African Peanut Soup" also found on this website.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This was SO good even though I didn't have the peanuts for garnish! I didn't add cilantro either (can't stand it). We could taste the peanut butter, curry, and sweet potatoes in every spoonful. I followed the recipe but next time will increase the curry a lot to satisfy the craving for spicy. I expect the leftovers will be even better!
This is sounds really great! ;)b I look forward to trying it! Thanks so much :)>>>
Do you think this would work with just some tomato/veggie juice instead of the chopped tomato? This sounds super yummy, I just don't have any tomatoes.
This is wonderful! It was a little too spicy for me, so I'll cut down on the cayenne next time, but otherwise it's pretty much perfect. I left out the broth - the consistency was perfect without it. I also left out the peanuts, but only because someone in my family seemed to have eaten them before I could use them for soup. I was using crunchy peanut butter anyway, though, so I don't think the impact was too great. I will definitely be making this all through winter!
Wow this was really good! I changed it a little bit by adding ground Peri Peri (African birds-eye chili) instead of cayenne and putting in a little extra tomato juice at the end. I didn't have creamy PB, so I just used chunky and omitted the chopped peanuts. I added some salt too, because it tasted like it was missing a little something. When I plated it, I added some sliced avocado. OOOMG! Excellent.
This soup is delicious just the way it is. I do enjoy spicy foods so the cayenne didn't bother me at all. Very tasty and must be very healthy as well. Thanks for sharing!!
I'm eating this right now and man, is it good! I've made the "Senegalese Style Peanut Soup" recipe from Deborah Madison's soup cookbook, but I like this recipe because I don't remember hers having sweet potatoes. It will give me some vitamins and the combination is killer. I used one small can of Muir Glen brand fire roasted tomatoes instead of fresh and they worked out well. I also didn't bother with garnish, but I know cilantro would give it even more flavor. This soup is surprisingly spicy so you might want to modify the cayenne.