Wednesday 18 February 2015

Colleen's African Sweet Potato & Peanut Stew (vegan & gluten-free)

Rocket & Roses Kitchen Play List:

Thunder ~ Robert Johnson's Tombstone
Audioslave ~ Shape Of Things To Come
Pavarotti ~ My Way
UB40 ~ Tears From My Eyes
Billie Holiday ~ I've Got My Love To Keep You Warm
Garbage ~ Supervixen
Toyah ~ Thunder In The Mountains
Jack Savoretti ~ Jack In A Box
Lenny Kravitz ~ Rock & Roll Is Dead!
Joan Jett ~ Love Is Pain
P!nk ~ Who Knew
Nerina Pallot ~ When Did I Become Such A Bitch?
Queen ~ The Invisible Man
U2 ~ With Or Without You

The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is one of my favourite cookbooks to date. So when I am lacking in energy and mobility I often find myself flipping between the pages of it looking for inspiration. And this is how I came to make (with the help of Ann..thank you!) this stew. 

I had a bag of sweet potatoes in my stocks and both Ann and myself love them. Once we started reading down the list of ingredients we realised that this recipe was the one for that day. The only ingredients missing in my stocks was the kidney beans so ML made a dash to the supermarket to buy some. I never run out of kidney beans...that shows clearly how upside-down my world is right now. With kidney beans purchased we set about making Colleen's stew. 

From the initial stages of cooking off the onions and garlic our mouths were watering, add to that the pepper and spices and we were impatient to eat it. It's very easy to make and the only time consuming task is shelling the roasted peanuts which I confess I had to sit down to do. The aroma in the kitchen was a delight and soon we were spooning a little brown rice into a bowl and smothering it with the stew. Garnishing with chopped peanuts and fresh coriander leaves we were set. 

We devoured this evening meal and probably ate a little more than we should! We were stuffed but not horribly so. The comforting sweet potatoes and kidney beans sat perfectly in the spicy peanut sauce. It was a divine meal...one I will no doubt be making again. 

And on other news...I am finally finding my fresh coriander love. Who knew? Trying to not become obsessed by the green leafy is hard...maybe I need to get a life? Anyway...I gave this recipe a 10/10 and Ann went further and gave it an awesome 11/10. It's a keeper...




Colleen's African Sweet Potato & Peanut Stew

Colleen's African Sweet Potato & Peanut Stew    Serves 4
(Recipe from The Vegan Table/Patrick-Goudreau)

3 tbsp/45 ml water, sauteing 
2 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2" (1cm) squares
1 tbsp/15g light brown sugar (I used brown sugar/stevia blend)
1 tsp grated/minced fresh ginger 
1 tsp (2 g) ground cumin 
1 tsp (2 g) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup (130-195g) smooth natural peanut butter (crunchy works great too!)
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" (1 cm) cubes
1 can (15oz or 42og) red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
4 cups (940ml) vegetable stock
1 tsp (6g) salt or to taste 
1/2 to 1 cup (70-145g) chopped, unsalted dry roasted peanuts
chopped fresh coriander, for garnish 

Heat water in a large sized saucepan over a medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened for about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, cover and cook until softened for about 5 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, ginger, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne and cook stirring for about 30 seconds. Stir in peanut butter, distribute evenly. Add sweet potato and kidney beans and stir to evenly coat. Add vegetable stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until sweet potatoes are cooked. Approx 20-30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve in individual bowls topped with peanuts and coriander. 

Enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your week is going well?

~Red~

NB: This is not my creation and therefore take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard work and creation of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and hers alone. I thank her for being an inspiration and for sharing such tasty recipes. ~R~