African Peanut Butter Stew

I tried a recipe for African Peanut Butter Stew this past Saturday night. I found the recipe online at Lunds and Byerly's, the Minneapolis gourmet grocery store that I am mildly obsessed with. For over a year, I've been wanting to recreate an African stew that I enjoyed at an on-campus lecture event I attended last year (at which my former Professor, Harold Scheub, of the famed African Storyteller 210, relayed his favorite tales and explained commonly used story devices). I've been waiting for the perfect stew weather. And this past weekend, I knew that it was finally time.

While the stew did require some prep work, the end result was well worth the elbow grease. My friend Karen gushed that it was one of the best dinners I've ever made. The pictures above just don't do the dish justice. It was a great combination of hearty vegetables, chicken, and subtle flavors of curry, peanut butter, and pepper, over a fluffy bed of couscous. The recipe also made enough to feed approximately 10 people, and since there were only three of us, I have lots of great leftover lunches for the week.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil
1 large onion, chopped (1 3/4 cups)
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 bell peppers, green, red and yellow, chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 6 cups)
1 (10 ounce) package couscous

Directions

Heat oil in heavy saucepan. Stir in onion, cook over medium heat until translucent. Stir in chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until outside is browned. Stir in chicken broth, tomato paste, peanut butter, carrots, bell peppers, curry powder, red pepper flakes, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat; simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Stir in sweet potatoes and continue to cook until potatoes are tender and chicken is no longer pink (about 30 minutes). Meanwhile, prepare couscous according to package directions using 1 teaspoon salt. Serve stew over hot couscous.