Recipe of the Week: Senegalese Peanut Soup
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto 
on 11.23.07
image credit:melodrama
Today the Recipe of the Week post will be a Thanksgiving, turkey, pumpkin and sweet potato free zone. I thought I would give you something to cook that involves a minimal amount of effort after all that work yesterday as well as giving you an entirely different type of flavour from that traditional feast.
I really loved this soup - fast, easy, delicious, everything I look for in a recipe. I took if from Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison and she suggests that you can toss in some cooked rice, or us it over tofu. I used stock, rather than water, just for a little added depth. If you have a peanut allergy, just omit the peanut butter, the soup is still great.
Senegalese Peanut Soup
1 to 2 tbsp peanut oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems (I just tossed in the whole thing, leaves and all)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne or hot red pepper flakes, to taste
2 tbsp curry powder
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock, or water
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup peanut butter, preferably organic and unsweetened
1 cup coconut milk,
sea salt
2 tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
yogurt
1. Heat the oil in a soup pot, then add the onion, garlic, and cilantro stems. Give a stir, then cook over high heat for a few minutes to warm the onion. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the onion has softened somewhat, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the cayenne and curry powder.
2. Add 3 cups of water and the tomatoes, including all their juices. Stir well and bring to a boil. Drop in the peanut butter and simmer until the onions are soft and the peanut butter has dissolved, about 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk. Season the soup with salt.
3. Just before serving, add the chopped cilantro. Serve with a dollop of yogurt in each bowl.
Makes about 7 cups
This recipe is from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen.
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mmmmmmm...sounds delightful. Can't wait to try it. Thanks for posting this!
sounds great, but do you use smooth or crunchy peanut butter?
kr: I used smooth, but I can't see any reason not to use crunchy if you want. Especially if that is what you have on hand
Another really great West African Peanut Soup recipe is in the Sundays at the Moosewood cookbook (yum!!). That one tosses in ginger, carrots and sweet potato to boot. Blend and it's perfect.