At the beginning of this year, before things started going crazy, I was reading one of the really good food blogs I follow, Kalyn’s Kitchen. She has great recipes and so many of them are naturally gluten free. Make sure you take time to look around her blog.
She shared a recipe for West African Chicken and Peanut Stew with Chilies, Ginger and Green Onions. It sounded amazing and easy to make with ingredients I usually have on hand. So I made it that night and immediately contacted Kalyn to tell her how great it was and to ask if I could share it with you. I had made only a couple of changes so I wanted to make sure I had her permission. Something anyone should do if you are reprinting a recipe. Thankfully she said yes and wanted to read what I had changed.
Since that first evening I’ve made this dish a couple of times. However, I think I need to come up with a new name for it. Something clever and short that would explain that this is the new leftover dish we race to the refrigerator to get to first. If you don’t get there first, you’re out of luck. If you like chicken, peanut butter and jalapenos you are going to love this stew. But I’ve warned you, so just be prepared to get to those leftovers first.
Whenever I cook my Spatchcock Chicken, I always put two on the cookie sheet so I have extra cooked chicken on hand just for recipes like this. Whenever you have extra cooked chicken, put it into the freezer and label it so you have it on hand. Of course you can plan ahead and roast your chicken on Monday and have this stew on Wednesday or Thursday.
Now this recipe was so fast and easy that I forgot to take photos along the way. Kalyn however took great photos of all the steps so make sure you check it out. So here is Kalyn’s recipe with my changes.
Ingredients:
1-2 T Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 T fresh ginger root grated
2-4 jalapeno diced, seeds and membrane removed (Kalyn used 2 tsp of pickled jalapenos but you know I like more of the pepper flavor)
3 tsp Ancho Chili powder
1 tsp Aleppo chili powder (Kalyn used 1 tsp chili powder which is a mix of chili peppers)
2 cups chicken stock (Kalyn used 1 cup of stock or broth)
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (I like Earth Balance with no sugar)
2 T tomato paste
1 T apple cider vinegar
3 cups shredded or diced roasted chicken
4-5 green onions sliced, white and green parts
Celtic Sea Salt and Tellicherry pepper to taste
Directions:
Grab your large cutting board and prep your ingredients. I would start with the jalapenos so you can get the oils off your hands. Remember, when you dice a jalapeno pepper to cut off the stem, cut it in half and then carefully cut out the membrane and seeds. Then you can dice the pepper. When you are done run your hands under cold water, smacking them back and forth to get the pepper oil off the hands. You do not want to touch your nose, eye or something else sensitive.
Dice the red onion, chop your chicken and grab your ginger root from the freezer. Well that’s where I keep mine. I scrape the skin off and put it into the freezer. It will keep for a long time and you’ll have fresh ginger whenever you need it. Who uses the whole big piece you buy all at once anyway?
Heat the oil on medium high in a heavy pot. I used my 3 1/2 quart Cassis LeCreuset french oven. It worked great and looked even better. Cook your red onion and jalapenos for just a minute. Next I like to grate the ginger right into the pot with my zester. Add in the chicken stock, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar and chili powders. Make sure you mix well so the peanut better is combined into the stew. Bring this to a slight boil. Now add in the chicken. Kalyn suggests you not stir much or the chicken will shred apart. We like it when that happens so I stir. Let it simmer 10-15 minutes.
Wash and slice your green onions. Stir your stew and serve it up. Top it with a big handful of those onions for each serving.
You can also find this recipe on What Can I Eat That’s Gluten Free? and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.
I LOVE stew! And peanuts and chicken with a spicy kick? I definitely want to try this!
Aubree- I've warned you, it's addicting.
I've been eye-ing a recipe like this for a few weeks now!
Katrina- Let me know how it turns out and what else you've been eye-ing.
I might get Mr. GFE to try this if he doesn't know there is peanut butter in it. He always thinks non-dessert dishes with peanut butter are strange. It looks delicious though. I have most of those ingredients (or similar) on hand right now. Hmmm …
Shirley
Shirley- These guys of ours sure have interesting notions about food. Don't tell him, just smile and serve it. Let me know who gets to the left overs first!
This looks SO good. I'll definitely be keeping this recipe to try later. There must be something going on with peanut butter lately as I've been experimenting with peanut butter muffins and Ali has some peanut butter cookies making their rounds. My muffins weren't worthy of posting, but I'll keep trying. In the meantime, your stew looks like the peanut butter dinner winner! Thanks for sharing this with us, Diane!
Melissa
Melissa- Thank you so much. I want to make it a vegetarian version too. I bet you have some great ideas on that.
Ochra and sweet potatoes instead of chx.
I love the idea of this recipe. Sounds different – which I like – and yet so easy! Yum.
That looks amazing. It's definitely different from our usual soups/stews. I really wish my husband could eat peanuts! Thanks for participating in the soup challenge.
Linda- I bet you could sub out the peanut butter for something else. Are there any nuts he can have? How about tahini?
coconut milk will give a similar flavor.
this is one of our favorites! Years ago we would serve it in a little coffee house in Pennsylvania. If people would know we were serving it we would run out before noon with take out orders. Thank you for reminding me of that fun memory….and that I need to make some…
Live Laugh and Enjoy!
Fire-Eyes
Fire-Eyes Roth What a great memory. Thanks for sharing it. Where in PA? Did you own the shop or work there?
Hi! I just stumbled across your blog, and I am excited to read up on everything. I am a newly GF gal. I started the Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen's Elimination Diet knowing I was gluten intolerant, and have decided never to go back. I am still in the trenches of restricting the foods I can eat, but this recipe looks delicious and I am looking forward to making it when I can eat chicken again.
Thanks!
Megs- Welcome! Glad to hear you already know all about Ali and her great recipes. Love her green smoothie. Take the time to get your body to settle back down and over time you'll find out what really bothers it. I also used the ALCAT test to help with that. Also, don't forget to sub out ingredients to what you can have.
I'm told the traditional African name is "Mafe". Anyone have any idea what good traditional African side dishes would be good with it???