West African Peanut Stew Express
Coarsely grated sweet potato melts into peanut butter and tomato in a quarter of the usual time.
Why it works
Grating the sweet potato rather than cubing it takes the cooking time from forty minutes to eight — the shreds collapse and thicken the stew from the inside, doing the job a long simmer normally does. The peanut butter goes in late, loosened with a ladle of hot liquid first, because it splits and turns grainy if it catches on the base of the pan.
Method
- Heat the oil in a wide, deep pan over a high heat. Brown the chicken in one layer for 3 minutes without stirring, then turn once.
- Add the onion, red pepper, garlic, ginger, chilli and ground coriander. Cook 2 minutes, until the pan smells sharp and sweet at once.
- Tip in the tomatoes, stock and sweet potato. Bring to the boil, then simmer briskly for 8 minutes. The shreds should vanish into the sauce, the liquid should coat a spoon and the chicken should be cooked through, with no pink left at the centre of a piece. Put the rice pouches in the microwave for their 2 minutes while it simmers, and leave them sealed so they stay hot.
- Drop the heat to low. Stir the peanut butter into a ladleful of the hot liquid in a mug, then pour it back — it emulsifies smoothly instead of clumping.
- Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring until just wilted, about 1 minute. Salt to taste.
- Fork the rice into four warm bowls and ladle the stew over, with the peanuts scattered on top and lime wedges to squeeze.
For the toddler
The scotch bonnet goes in at step 2 and cannot come back out, so lift a few pieces of browned chicken at the end of step 1. Simmer them in a small pan with a spoonful of the tinned tomatoes, some grated sweet potato and a teaspoon of the peanut butter, no salt, until soft. Keep that sauce smooth, leave the chopped peanuts off as they are a choking risk under five, and shred the chicken finely.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Three tins of drained chickpeas instead of chicken; add them at step 3.
Grate the sweet potato in a food processor while the chicken browns.
Fried plantain, or a plate of cucumber and red onion in lime juice to cut the richness of the peanut.
Four days chilled, better on day two. Loosen with water when reheating.