Spicy Peanut Butter Soup

Serves: 4

This vegetarian take on a classic West African recipe is like a warm hug on a cold day - it’s creamy, comforting, and best of all, simple to prepare. We love using harissa in our version, but if you find it’s too spicy, you could omit it or sub just a pinch of cayenne pepper. Roasting the sweet potatoes is optional, but we love the extra flavor and texture variation this provides! See note below for a shortcut method.

Ingredients

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, toss the cubed sweet potato with 1 tbsp of peanut oil and 1/2 tsp salt, until evenly coated. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet, and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until crisp and browned on the outside, and soft on the inside.

3. While the sweet potatoes are roasting, heat the remaining 1 tbsp peanut oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic, and sauté until the onion is soft, about 4-5 minutes.

4. Stir in the vegetable stock and remaining 2 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. In a heat-safe bowl, stir together the peanut butter and the tomato paste. Add in one to two cups of the hot stock mixture to the bowl, and whisk until the ingredients are well combined and smooth. Pour the peanut mixture into the soup pot and mix well.

6. Add the harissa, collard greens, and chopped peanuts to the soup pot, and mix gently. Cover the pot and allow it to simmer for 10-15 minutes more.

7. Just before serving, stir in the roasted sweet potatoes. Garnish each bowl with chopped fresh tomato and additional chopped peanuts, if desired.

* Note: If you’re short on time, you can skip roasting the cubed sweet potatoes, and instead add them at the same time as the broth in step 4 - just make sure the cubes aren’t too large or they may not cook all the way through.
* Recipe adapted from Cookie + Kate