Groundnut Stew or groundnut chop

Groundnut is the common African word for peanut, and Groundnut Stew or Groundnut Chop is one of many "Chop" dishes served in Africa. I was watching Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservation" and he was in Ghana. During the trip they stopped at a Chop Cafe and I just wanted to have some of that. It seems that some of my cooking lately has been inspired by Anthony Bourdain's adventures. So here is my version of groundnut stew.


Gather together:
1 medium onion (diced)
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
a few stocks of celery
1 bunch of carrots
1 red pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tsp ground ginger

Saute those items in a large stock pot.



In another pot at the same time cook 3 large, sweet potatoes cut in to medium chunks .



In the tomato pan, add 1 cup of natural creamy peanut butter or if you live in the Alaskan Bush and refuse to pay $18 for peanut butter you can use Flavorite Brand for $7.99. Stir that until it turns in to a bubbling goo. Add a can of chilies and your favorite vegetable or chicken stock. Simmer this on medium-lowfor about 30 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes to the pot. Add salt and red pepper flakes to taste.

I served this with hard boiled eggs cooked in the stew--leave the shell on and place in the stew for the 30 minutes. I also served it with rice, avocados, flat bread and red pepper chili sauce. I also made roast chicken in the crock pot and shredded it and put it on top.


Chicken can be fried in the pan before the vegetables, but since Anthony and Erin were coming over, I made it on the side.


This is pretty good. It has a light peanut flavor. You can make this as spicy as you like. I like it spicy, but Aaron isn't so much with the level of spice I am comfortable with. This tastes awesome with beer. I am not normally a beer drinker, but this just brings it out. This is just easy to make and is filling.


If you are interested in other groundnut stews, check out this link.