West African sweet potato and peanut stew

West African sweet potato and peanut stew with tomatoes, spinach, ginger and peanut butter – creamy, spicy and hearty for an uncomplicated dinner.

At a glance

• Serves 4
• Prep time: 10 min
• Cooking time: 25 min
• Total time: 35 min
• Calories: 380 kcal per serving
• Protein: 12 g
• Fat: 18 g
• Carbs: 42 g

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 200 g leaf spinach
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 20 g fresh ginger
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 pinch of chilli flakes
• 1 pinch of sea salt

Method

You’ll need: saucepan · chopping board · knife · wooden spoon · ladle

1. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion, garlic and ginger gently until soft and translucent. Toast the cumin and chilli flakes briefly until fragrant.
3. Add the sweet potatoes and sweat them briefly. Pour in the tomatoes and vegetable stock, bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the sweet potatoes are soft.
4. Stir in the peanut butter until the stew turns creamy. Fold in the spinach and let it wilt.
5. Season to taste with sea salt and adjust the consistency with a little stock if needed.
6. Ladle into deep bowls and serve with chopped peanuts and fresh coriander if you like.

Good to know

This stew is warm, creamy and pleasantly spicy. It's little effort but tastes of lots of cooking and time. On days when you want something hearty, it's just right.

Swaps

Peanut butter → almond butter (also provides unsaturated fatty acids and some vitamin E; contains tree nuts); leaf spinach → kale (more bite, contains vitamin K); sweet potato → squash (milder, also provides fibre)

Allergens

Contains peanuts; depending on the stock, it may also contain celery. For children, leave out the chilli flakes and keep an eye on the texture; in pregnancy fine with well-washed spinach and heated ingredients.

Dairy-free recipes