I love my job. For those of you who don’t know me, you might be surprised to learn that it has nothing at all to do with food. I work for a good organization with good people and in a lovely setting. And, I get free lunch every day. 

The Institutes have an onsite cafeteria that’s run by Chef John R and his wonderful team. John takes his goal to provide healthy and interesting food for us very seriously. Each day we get a glimpse of what he’s serving up the following day – not just the title, but a description of the dish along with a bit of history. He’s introduced me to main dishes and soups that I’ve never heard of. He also regularly posts his recipes to our intranet site. Yes, this soup is one of my favorite Chef John recipes.

I was recently involved in a conversation with an 8th grader about the importance of math in everyday life. While I make no claims to use calculus on a regular basis (or at all), I do use the basics of algebra and geometry. When Chef John shares his recipes they make enough to feed large quantities as he feeds about 200 people a day. This one started out making about five gallons. That’s a lot of soup, so I cut it down to one fifth of the quantity and improvised where needed. 

Wondering about the origins of this soup? Peanuts are native to South America where they were discovered by the Spanish and brought to Europe and other areas they colonized. Over the centuries, peanuts have become a staple in cooking in western Africa. Yes, Chef John and I both enjoy sharing a bit of food history.

This soup has a nice quantity of vegetables with a velvety smooth (no blending required) and flavorful base. Adding a few peanuts on top for garnish gives it a bit of crunch, too. It’s perfect to warm you up on a cold day and naturally gluten-free/wheat-free.

I brought in a sampling of the soup for Chef John to try and I’m pleased to share that it received his seal of approval. So while my job has nothing to do with food or cooking, I’m always on the lookout for a good recipe and I often find one on a typical day at the office.

African Peanut Soup

 

African Peanut Soup
5.0 from 1 reviews
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Recipe type: Side
Author:
Serves: 6 to 8
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 celery stalks, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 yellow pepper, diced
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed and finely diced
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes (not drained)
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • 6 ounces unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For Garnish:
  • ⅔ cups unsalted roasted peanuts
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot (at least 5 quarts and with a lid) over medium heat.
  2. Add onion, celery, red pepper, yellow pepper and jalapeño pepper and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft and onion is translucent. Uncover pot.
  3. Add garlic. Stir for 1 minute.
  4. Add cumin, ground ginger, paprika and ground coriander. Stir for 1 minute.
  5. Stir in tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cover pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
  6. Stir in peanut butter, coconut milk, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Simmer on low heat, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. If soup is too thick add additional chicken stock, ¼ cup at a time.
  8. Serve hot in bowls garnished with peanuts and cilantro.
Notes
* Recipe freezes well.
* To make this soup vegetarian, use vegetable stock.
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