Saturday, May 3, 2008

African Pineapple Peanut Stew

Yet another recipe that we tried and loved! Thanks to Christine, who I love to talk food with, for the recipe. This is the original recipe, but we changed just a few things. I didn't take this picture, but ours looked the same.

1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (we used olive oil)
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard (4 cups sliced)
2 cups undrained canned crushed pineapple (20-ounce can)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce (I used a dash of cayenne pepper)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt to taste (I didn't add salt because my peanuts were already salted)
crushed skinless peanuts
chopped scallions

In a covered saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in the oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly browned. While the onions saute, wash the kale or chard (we used kale). Remove and discard the large stems and any blemished leaves. Stack the leaves on a cutting surface and slice crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices (I just gave them a rough chop).

Add the pineapple and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer. Stir in the kale or chard, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just tender (I think it needs to simmer a little longer than this to become tender). Mix in the peanut butter, Tabasco (cayenne), and cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste (I don't think it needs salt), and serve.

We just served this over white sticky rice, and it was delicious! It was very filling, and all of the textures and flavors went really well together. We were thinking, since it is a sweet meal, that sliced bananas added at the very end would be good (we actually tried this on our second helping and it was yummy), or that sauteeing a chopped apple along with the onions would also be good. Dirty rice would also be delicious and healthy.
This meal was super easy, super fast, and delicious. It's fairly healthy, especially if you use a low-fat peanut butter.

1 comment:

Christine said...

I made this again tonight. I totally forgot how much I liked it! I added bananas at the end like you suggested, it was good!

I made it with brown rice and it was so filling.