I was watching The Chew. In one of the cooking segments, Carla made this dish called Ground Nut Stew. Sorry, I am not that enamored with her style of cooking, she uses a lot of processed food, but Michael gave this surprised look after tasting it, and then declared it delicious. She said she had won a trip to San Francisco with this dish. It made me curious so I googled it, and it turns out it is a well known low-country dish. I am originally from the mid-west, but now live in California so what do I know about low-country cooking? But I do make a really good sweet potato hash with some of these ingredients that I thought may be good, but it was the tomato and peanut butter that scared me. Carla also included a habanero pepper, along with a pablano. Well I don’t know that much about peppers so the habanero scared me to death. I believe it is one of the hottest peppers on earth. People I am here to tell you I am not that brave so I used a jalapeno. She also used a red bean, but I live in California so it was chickpea for me. Turns out it is really good stuff. I find it kind of addicting. I think this dish is one of those that gets better the next day, but I hope you will make this and decide for yourself. And now with all my changes I no longer know if I can attribute this to Carla, but I want to be honest and give her credit because I would not have made my version had she not made hers, and Michael had not given it his seal of approval. You can find hers Here
I forgot the peanuts as a garnish. I served with a squeeze of lemon because I did not have a lime, but I did have a lemon. I also served with a dash of hot sauce until I grow up and can handle the big guns learn more about peppers.
My notes: I asked my hairdresser, who is a great cook, what would be her advice, or the single most thing she does to make her food delicious. She said, treat each ingredient like it is the only ingredient. So I have tried to adapt that habit in my food. So I rinsed my onions, peeled my celery, removed the endosperm from the garlic, and removed the husk from the chickpeas. I have to say I think she is on to something. Thank you C. Thank you Chef Burrell, Jacques Pépin, Carla Hall, Michael Symon, and the chef that said to remove the endosperm from the garlic.
- 1 small onion
- 2 ribs of celery
- 1 small red pepper
- 2 small garlic
- 1 medium jalapeno
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 15 oz. can tomato
- 1 15 oz. can chickpea
- 3 Tablespoons peanut butter
- Water – tomato can’s worth
- Olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- S&P to taste
- 1 lemon
- Mise en place:
- Small dice onion – I put my diced onion in ice water so they won’t be bitter/rinse and drain on a paper towel to remove moisture. (I learned this from Jaques Pépin.)
- I peel my celery so it will not stick in my teeth. (I learned this from Jacques Pépin.)
- Jalapeno – you can remove seeds (or not), small dice, or just de-seed and half then submerge in the stew and take out when done. It will give a milder flavor.
- Peel/smash garlic – I remove the endosperm (because some chef said it makes it less bitter, but I don’t recall who said it in order to thank him, and give him credit.)
- Small cube sweet potato to the size you like in your mouth. I like mine chickpea size.
- De-husk the chickpeas – rinse and drain the chickpeas and place on a paper towel; gently run you hands over them and the skin will slide off. This is not necessary, but I think it gives a better mouth-feel without their skins.
- A 15 oz. can of tomatoes – I took a slotted spoon removed 2 large spoonsful of the tomatoes to save for another
- dish. (maybe on tomorrow’s pizza, or I’ll think of something.)
- In a small bowl add the peanut butter and some of the hot tomato juice from the pot. Whisk until smooth, then add back to the pot. (I know, this sounded weird to me too.)
- I always measure out a teaspoon of salt into a pinch bowl, then each time I add something to the pot I add some salt. If more is needed by all means add, but this helps to keep me from over-salting.
- In a soup pot sauté the onions, then celery and red pepper, then add sweet potato. Sauté them just to bring heat and coated with olive oil. Find a hot spot in your pot and add the garlic (be careful not to burn or it will ruin your dish), then bloom the cumin, (be careful not to burn). Add tomatoes and water to cover. Add a tight lid. BTB/RTS (or as Anne Burrell says – bring to boil/reduce to simmer.)
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