Eggplant and peanut stew is a traditional West African recipe. Sometimes it calls for meat, sometimes not. My version is totally vegan and perfect for cooking up that summer eggplant and tomato bounty!
My friend Bonnie sent me a recipe for eggplant stew, and it reminded me that I'd been wanting to try a spin on a West African eggplant and peanut stew recipe that I'd seen in a few places.
The first place I ran across this recipe was years ago in Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook, but I somehow never got around to making it. This week's Vegetable Husband CSA delivery had so many of the ingredients, though, it was totally time!
Eggplant and Peanut Stew Recipe
adapted from Bajan Scent
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 3 cups eggplant, diced
- 2 cups tomatoes (any sort will do!), chopped
- 2 potatoes, diced
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- handful of fresh basil, chopped
- 1 cup veggie broth
- 1 cup okra, chopped
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (You can use any sweetener you like, really, but maple syrup is so good!)
Method
- Saute the onions and garlic until the onion turns translucent. Add the eggplant, tomato, and potato. Reduce your heat to medium, cover your pot, and let everything cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the ginger, cayenne pepper, basil, and broth. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 more minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Add the okra, peanut butter, salt, and maple syrup. Stir to dissolve the peanut butter, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Andrew
BEWARE!
I have Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook, and I can not find this recipe in it.
Becky Striepe
Interesting. Which edition do you have? Mine is from the 90s. I wonder if newer editions don't have it? She has a ton of books out, so we may also be looking at different ones.
Anela
Made this tonight, I added tofu to this and zucchini. It was sooo good!! So simple and tasty!
Becky
Those sound like great additions!
Mello
Thanks Carolyn for the calorie count. I made this stew a couple of days ago and it was very good. The only okra I could find was in a can. I am not a fan of can food but bought it anyway. I will be making this again for sure because it's easy to make and the calorie count per serving is perfect for me.
Julie van Niekerk
I am not fond of eggplant, but will try this recipe