West African food is a complex creature and styles of food are distinguished by more than just country borders. West Africa is made of up various ethnic groups, each with their own food traditions and languages and many of these can exist side-by-side in the same country. This particular dish - chicken and groudnut stew - has many variations between the cultural groups, with the main difference being the lush, rainforest belt of the south and the dry, arid plains of the north. In both of these locations, groundnuts (the same as peanuts) are a reliable crop and find their way into many traditional dishes for richness. The peanuts are roasted to maximise their flavour before being blended to a smooth milk. This is added to many dishes to give heart, but in this dish it combines with chicken and green, leafy vegetables as a great introduction to West African food. Most West Africans will use virgin palm oil [BEST BUY] for their cooking and will add crayfish powder [BEST BUY] as an umami seasoning but these could be omitted if you struggle to find them. If you prefer a meatless version of this, white fish, squash or sweet potato can replace the meat without any issue. Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
4x bone-in chicken thighs or 6x boneless chicken thighs (or replace with chopped squash or sweet potato)
2 tsps fine salt
2 tsps black peppercorns
1.5 litres of water
PEPPER BASE
4 tomatoes
2x red bell peppers
4x cloves garlic
1x thumb-sized piece of ginger
2-3 red chillies - to taste
1 tablespoon tomato puree
SOUP BASE
80g raw, skinless peanuts [available in Asian supermarkets] or 80g natural peanut butter
3 tablespoons red palm oil [BEST BUY] or vegetable oil
1x onion, diced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp of crayfish powder [BEST BUY], or ¼ fish stock cube, crushed – optional
100g spinach or kale - optional
WALKTHROUGH
First, let’s poach the chicken. Place the chicken thighs into a pot and cover with 1.5 litres of water. Add the 2 tsps of salt and 2 tsps of black peppercorns. Place the pot onto a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes for bone-in chicken or 15 minutes for boneless chicken.
Remove the chicken from the water and set aside to cool. Keep 500ml of the cooking liquid/stock aside for later.
Now we will make the pepper base. In a blender, add the 2x deseeded bell peppers, 4x tomatoes, 4x cloves of garlic, piece of ginger, 2-3 red chillies and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Blend these ingredients until you have a smooth mixture and set this aside.
Now we will make the peanut paste. If using peanut butter, you can skip this step. Place 80g of raw, skinned peanuts into a frying pan over medium heat. Gently heat the peanuts, tossing them occasionally, until they develop a golden brown colour and nutty aroma. They will also begin to sweat. Transfer the warm nuts to a food processor and blend them until is as smooth as possible, adding small amounts of water to help them blend smooth. Set this aside.
Now we will prepare the stew base. Place a large saucepan onto medium heat. Add the 3 tablespoons of red palm oil or vegetable oil, followed by the diced onion. Fry the onion for 2-3 minutes until softened.
Add the blended pepper paste to the pan. Bring it a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, or until it is slightly thickened, darker and rich.
Reduce the heat to medium low. In a measuring jug, combine the peanut paste/butter with 300ml of the reserved chicken cooking liquid from earlier. Whisk until the mixture blends to a smooth milk. Add this peanut milk to the hot pepper paste in the pan, whisking it until combined.
Add the cooked chicken, removing any skin and bones if desired, along with the 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp of crayfish powder, or ¼ a chicken stock cube if using. Allow the mixture to come up to a heat and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened, taking care that it doesn’t stick. Add small amounts of the remaining reserved chicken cooking liquid if needed until you have a thick, saucy consistency that coats a spoon nicely.
If desired, add the 100g of spinach or kale, and cover the simmering pot with a lid. Allow the greens to sit on the stew and wilt for 2 minutes before stirring to combine.
Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning, using salt, sugar or lemon juice. You can add more liquid if you prefer a soup consistency, or reduce it further until thicker - the preferred thickness varies a lot!
Serve the stew with rice, vegetables like sweet potato or fresh fufu. Enjoy!
