Oldways Sweet Potato Peanut Stew (or "Mafe" in West Africa)
Mafe, or groundnut stew, is common throughout West and Central Africa. This traditional stew can include meat, vegetables, or seafood, and it is always based on a savory sauce made from peanut butter and tomatoes.
Course Main Course
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 4(click to scale)
Calories 240kcal
Ingredients
2tspextra virgin olive oil
1mediumfresh yellow oniondiced
2clovesfresh garlic minced
1largefresh sweet potatochopped into medium-size cubes
2largefresh carrotcut into thin rounds
2eachfresh zucchinicut into thin half-rounds
15ozcanned diced tomatoes, no added salt
2cupsvegetable stocklow sodium
1Tbspcurry powder
¼cupnatural peanut butter
3sprigsfresh thymeminced, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
sea salt to taste
Instructions
Heat the oil in one of the soup pots on medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent (3-4 minutes).
While the onions and garlic cook, chop up the sweet potato, carrots, and zucchini.
Add sweet potato and vegetables to the pot; saute for 3-4 minutes.
Add the diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and curry powder, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, add the peanut butter and the thyme to the stew. Let it cook, covered, for another 3-5 minutes.
Salt to taste, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe courtesy of Oldways. This recipe is based on one from Iba Thiam, chef and owner of Cazamance restaurant in Austin, Texas, and it is one of the recipes in Oldways’ A Taste of African Heritage cooking program. The sweet potato, a much-loved African heritage food, is a featured ingredient.