Groundnut Stew

A variation on groundnut stew—because we bought a pound of fresh spinach at Costco and I'm putting it in everything.

Groundnut Stew
serves 4-6

1 1/2 cups brown rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 medium sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and diced
1, 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 quart vegetable or chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1 cup pre-cooked chicken, diced (optional)
1/2-3/4 cup peanut butter
salt, to taste
6 ounces fresh baby spinach

Bring rice and 2 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan covered with tight fitting lid. Once the water boils, reduce heat to low and cook, without lifting lid, for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, turn off heat and let rice sit until ready to use.

While rice is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add onions and saute until onions begin to turn translucent. Add nutmeg, chili powder, and cayenne and continue to saute. Add sweet potatoes and stir to coat thoroughly with spices and onions. Stir in tomatoes, broth, garlic, and chili garlic sauce. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender. Stir in chicken (if using). Once the chicken is hot (about 5 minutes), stir in the peanut butter. This will thicken the stew. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

To serve, place a scoop of rice in the bottom of a bowl. Cover rice with 1 ounce spinach and ladle the stew on top.

Note: This is another completely adjustable dish. So you don't want to deal with rice or spinach tonight? Just ladle the soup into a bowl and dig in. No pre-cooked chicken in your house? Leave it out and go vegan. Add more veggies (pimento, red pepper, cabbage, carrot). Or substitute chopped peanuts for the peanut butter (in which case, you'll likely want to puree some of the soup to thicken it).