Sudanese Sweet Potato, Spinach and Peanut Stew 

Delicious and hearty, this Sudanese-inspired sweet potato, spinach and peanut stew makes a great vegetarian meal.

Sudanese food isn’t typically vegetarian, with stews often containing meat or fish. However, as is often the case, it’s easy enough to make a dish vegetarian by swapping a few ingredients. So I decided to make a Sudanese-inspired stew and when I read that Sudan is one of the world’s largest producers of peanuts or ground nuts. I knew that I wanted to make a peanut stew as not only is it delicious but my kids have had one before and they enjoyed it.

When I served this to my children, I blended some of the stew and added some Quorn (trademark), a fungus-based food product used as a substitute for meat, to their portion. I gave them a little of the unblended stew as well, which the little one gobbled up but the big two left. However, I would definitely class this as a successful meal and is one that I’ll be making regularly from now on. It makes a great hidden vegetable recipe and the peanut butter also packs a big protein hit so it’s a good new dish to try with picky eaters – particularly if they already like peanut butter.

Stews in Sudan are often served with a sorghum porridge. It had been my intention to hunt some out, but in the end I ran out of time and the kids were hungry so I served it with rice.

Ingredients

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 500ml boiling vegetable stock
• 100g spinach leaves shredded (or use frozen)
• 120g peanut butter (I use the sugar and salt free kind)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft.
3. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the tomato purée, sweet potatoes, chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock.
5. Stir well, bring the boil, then cover and reduce the heat. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through.
6. Add the spinach and the peanut butter and stir well. Cook for 5 more minutes.
7. Serve with rice or bread or a sorghum porridge to make it really authentic.
8. This dish keeps well so can be made in advance and also freezes well.

Serves 4

by Mandy Mazliah Adapted from Sneakyveg.com