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02/08/2023 12:05 PMIt was a dark, dreary January evening, one of those rainy nights when I was certain the skies had been spitting cold rain forever and would be doing so forevermore. Then my friend Deb texted me that she had made some soup. Did I want some?
I responded YES, and she popped in her car and drove it down the avenue.
Turned out it was the first night of many such deliveries and pick-ups. Deb and her husband Wayne were doing a Soup January, partly to recover from the excesses of the holiday season and partly because what’s better on a cold winter’s night than a steamy hot bowl of healthy goodness?
About a week in of receiving, I asked if I could play too and jumped in with a carrot soup and a Mexican tomato soup with shrimp. I then made a second batch of the Mexican soup, subbing in black beans for the shrimp (not as spectacular but also delicious and much more reasonably priced). Then I followed up with a simple, thick, creamy tomato soup based on a recipe from my friend Michele. Deb ended the month and brought in February with an African peanut soup. We will be having that tonight as I am writing this.
Every one of Deb’s soups were delicious. She made a curried celery; potato leek; pea soup; mushroom barley; roasted garlic, potato, mushroom; white bean, spinach, and rice; French onion; and butternut squash. She also made a golden beet bisque but didn’t offer any because, beets. She knows how I feel about beets.
Some of the soups we made were from recipes, but the longer the month went on, the more we got comfortable with using a little of this and a little of that, often depending on what we had in the fridge. In fact, one of our favorites of the month was the white bean, spinach, and rice, which also had some roasted garlic in it. I’d give you the recipe, but, sorry, it was just Deb searching her pantry and fridge and then making an amazing soup.
That was a great reminder for me. Soup helps me make the most of what I have. That’s more important now than ever when the price of just about everything I buy at the market makes me choke as it’s rung up at the register.
The other great thing about most soups is that even if you do have to go to the market, most of the ingredients are pretty reasonable. Deb has most of the ingredients she needs for tonight’s soup, and I’m going to run out this afternoon to get what she doesn’t have, a sweet potato, some cilantro, and a jalapeno pepper.
African Peanut Soup
From The Modern Proper
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed,
diced
4 garlic cloves, minced (1 tbsp)
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 (14oz) can crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 (14 oz) can chickpeas, drained
1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
4 cups kale, roughly chopped
1.5 lbs chicken, poached shredded
1 tsp salt (to taste)
peanuts, crushed
cilantro, chopped (optional) for
garnish
Directions:
In a large pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add in ginger, jalapeno and garlic and stir until fragrant about 1 min. Add the pepper, cumin and tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, until paste darkens.
Add the crushed tomatoes, stock, sweet potatoes, chickpeas and peanut butter. Bring to a boil and stir until fully combined. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender. Add in kale and shredded chicken and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste the soup before adding salt, adjust to your taste.
Serve warm topped with cilantro and crushed peanuts.
Enjoy!