Groundnut Stew — West African Peanut Stew
West African peanut stew, thickened with groundnut paste and simmered with chicken until deep, rich and gently fiery.
Method
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper and thyme. Brown it in the oil over medium-high heat for 4 minutes a side, in batches, then set aside.
- Cook the onions in the same pot for 8 minutes until soft and golden, then add the garlic and ginger for 1 minute.
- Add the tomato paste and fry for 3 minutes until it darkens, then the blended tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes until thickened and no longer raw-smelling.
- Put the peanut butter in a bowl and whisk in 2 cups of the hot stock, a ladle at a time, until completely smooth. Adding it straight to the pot makes lumps that never disperse.
- Pour the loosened peanut mixture into the pot with the remaining stock and stir well.
- Return the chicken, add the whole scotch bonnet and bring to a gentle simmer. Keep it gentle: a hard boil makes peanut stew split.
- Simmer uncovered for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and scraping the base, which catches easily.
- Add the sweet potato, if using, for the last 20 minutes of cooking.
- The stew is ready when the oil rises in an orange layer on the surface and the sauce coats a spoon thickly. Remove the chilli, season well and serve with rice or fufu.
How to make Groundnut Stew — West African Peanut Stew
Groundnut stew goes by many names across West Africa — maafe in Senegal and Mali, domoda in the Gambia, groundnut soup in Ghana and Nigeria — and in every version peanuts provide both the thickening and the backbone of the flavour.
Loosen the peanut butter first
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Thick peanut paste dropped into a pot of liquid seizes into lumps. Whisk it in a bowl with a couple of cups of hot stock until smooth and pourable, then add it to the pot. This one step prevents the most common problem.
Keep the simmer gentle
Peanut stew splits if boiled hard, with oil separating in an unpleasant way rather than the even layer that signals it is ready. Low and slow, with regular stirring to stop it catching, gives a glossy, stable sauce.
Use natural peanut butter
Sweetened, stabilised peanut butter makes a cloying stew. Look for a brand whose only ingredients are peanuts and salt, or use freshly ground groundnut paste from an African or Asian grocer.
Variations
Beef, lamb or smoked fish all work, as does a vegetarian version with chickpeas and plenty of vegetables. Spinach or other greens stirred in at the end are common, and the whole scotch bonnet gives aroma with far less heat than a chopped one.
Traditional West African cookery, known as maafe, domoda or groundnut soup in different countries. Editorially researched from widely documented preparations, and not kitchen-tested by Axadle.
Contains peanuts. Naturally gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free; check stock cubes for wheat.
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