African Peanut Soup (aka Elephant Pea Soup)

African Peanut Soup

Serves 6-8

Original Source: Soup Night by Maggie Stuckey (she lives in Ocean Park, somebody find her and invite her to dinner). I first had it at Apollo's Restaurant in Olympia, years & years ago. Everybody called it "Elephant Pea Soup" back then.

Sherwood notes: For a Tuesday night news, I multiplied this recipe by 6, then split it into two pots before I put the meat in. One pot was the vegan / gluten-free / soy-free version, the other had lots of chicken. Serve it with nice bread and whatever raw vegetables are around.

Obvious allergens: Peanuts and nightshades (tomatoes, red pepper)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons cooking oil (whatever's on hand, I used avocado oil)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (obviously use veggie broth if you're going to feed the vegetarians)
2 cups wate4r
2 (14-to-15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon curry powder (just ordinary curry powder, you don't have to use the fancy stuff)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I left these out because there were a pack of little kids around)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup uncooked rice (whatever's on hand, I used brown rice)
1/2 cup peanut butter
2-3 cups diced chicken (optional)

Heat the cooking oil and sesame oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.

Add the onions, bell pepper and garlic. Saute' until translucent, about 4 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, water, tomatoes (with their juice), curry powder, black pepper, pepper flakes and salt.

Simmer uncovered for 35-40 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender, whiz up the soup 'til it's smooth. This is optional, but it makes the kids slurp the soup down happily instead of picking out the vegetables.

Add the rice. If you're using RAW chicken, add it to the pot now as well. (If you're using already-cooked chicken, wait so it doesn't get rubbery.)

Cook, covered, over low heat until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked - about 20 minutes.

Add the peanut butter, whisking until dissolved. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

If you're using ALREADY-COOKED chicken, add it now.

Bring the soup back to a simmer before serving.