West African Peanut Soup

Happy Belated National Soup Swap Day! We were delighted to see a record 50 soup swaps are or were scheduled to take place across the country (and one in the UK) this month or next. Be sure to check out Knox's official site www.soupswap.com for full coverage of all the soup swap action! It sounds like everyone enjoyed sharing stories and swapping some delicious soup!

For those of you who'd been asking about our next soup swap, don't worry. Your invitation wasn't lost in the mail, we just decided to postpone ours until next month. We'd both been under the weather and then I was traveling. When we do have our event, you can count on hearing about it here and on soupswap.com.

Plus, it's never too late to host a swap of your own! As Eleanor at Amuse-Bouche points out, a little effort on your part will pay off in a big way by filling your freezer with a wonderful assortment of soups to savor for the months ahead. Go get your soup on!

Even without hosting a swap this week, we still managed to have some soup simmering on the stove. We've been on a mission in the new year to eat healthier foods and cut back on cream, meat, white flour and sugar. I figured it would be a great time to pull out one of my favorite cookbooks, Sundays at Moosewood Restaurantfor a little inspiration. This vegetarian cookbook features recipes from across the globe.

With co-workers from Senegal and the Ivory Coast, I'm always excited to hear about what they're cooking at home. My friend Moustapha mentioned a peanut soup he'd thrown together with fish and chicken, so this West African vegan version seemed like a good bet. I'm a big fan of peanut butter and since peanuts are actually good for you, I couldn't wait to try it. Next time I'll make my own peanut butter, but this time around I used what I had on hand from the store. This all natural version contained only two ingredients: peanuts and salt. The way it should be!

West African Peanut Soup

Click here to print this recipe!

Serves 6 to 8

2 cups chopped onions
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 serrano chili, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger root
1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes
4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes or tomato juice
1 cup peanut butter (chunky)*
1 Tbsp sugar (optional)
salt to taste
1 cup chopped scallions
chopped peanuts
hot sauce (optional)

1. Saute the onions in the oil until just translucent. Stir in the cayenne and fresh ginger. Add the carrots and saute a couple more minutes. Mix in the potatoes and stock, bring the soup to a boil, and then simmer for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

2. In a blender or food processor, puree the vegetables with the cooking liquid and tomatoes. Return the puree to a soup pot. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth. Taste the soup. Its sweetness will depend upon the sweetness of the carrots and sweet potatoes. If it's not there naturally, add just a little sugar to enhance the other flavors and add salt to taste.

3. Reheat the soup gently, using a heat diffuser if needed to prevent scorching. Add more water, stock, or tomato juice for a thinner soup.

4. Serve topped with plenty of chopped scallions, chopped peanuts and hot sauce to taste.

*Use homemade peanut butter or a store bought brand made only from peanuts and salt; nothing else!

Adapted from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant