Twenty-something years ago, when we were still newlyweds, I asked my husband if there were any favorite foods he had that I wasn’t making. He thought for a minute and said, “Yeah. Peanut soup. When I was in basic training, we had it once when we were out on leave, and it was one of the best things I’d ever eaten.” Huh. I’d never heard of peanut soup before.
It’s a West African dish, filled with all kinds of nutritious stuff. I had to make it. It was amazing! I kept it constantly in the rotation, tweaking it to my heart’s content, because it’s just as delicious as it is good for you. Perfect.
Now that initial recipe I used – I could have sworn that it was out of a Moosewood Book (all their books are fabulous vegetarian fare!). I’m looking at the one I own, Moosewood Restaurant Favorites, and that was published in 2013, 18 years later. Hmmm. It’s got a recipe for West African Peanut Soup on p.65 and another for Groundnut Stew on p.127, but my scribbled and rescribbled recipe doesn’t look much like either.
Our initial dishes were turquoise Fiestaware. Who ever said blue is unappetizing with food is silly. Those turquoise dishes make all the rainbow produce dishes look great, and are particularly stunning with oranges, pinks, and reds. We’re rocking our good china all the time now. The white just isn’t as cute with the orange. Okay, I think I’m done with my artist rant. I hope you love the soup! You might feel like a little yoga afterwards.

Jen’s West African Peanut Soup
I love serving this with a basic green salad dressed in a vinaigrette and warm, fragrant beer bread. I’m trying to slow down on the bread, so now the beer has made its way into the soup. It’s quite happy there. 😉
I group the ingredients together with the directions so it’s easier to see what can get prepped together.


2 smallish onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon oil
Saute until translucent.
¼ – ½ teaspoon cayenne (¼ with kids. For the not-spicy friend I just made this for, yours was 1/8 teaspoon.)
2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
Stir in and sauté a few more minutes.

1 teaspoon salt
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 can beer (or 2 cups more water)
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water
Mix in. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes, until tender. Puree in blender in two batches if you love it smooth or mash with a potato masher or an immersion blender if you prefer a little more texture. Return to soup pot.

1 can tomato juice
1 cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons stevia or sugar
Add, stirring until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed.
4 chopped scallions or chives
Garnish.


Need that knife?! I know! It’s beautiful isn’t it? It’s so shiny that it’s hard to get a good photo. Such a sexy knife! 8″ high carbon stainless steel Damascus-style chef knife. Damascus is referring to that beautiful pattern. Stunning, really light, comfortable, and sharp. Pakka wood handle. Believe it or not, it’s a value play. Here’s the Amazon link:
Fanteck 8″ High Carbon Stainless Steel Damascus-Style Chef Knife

The soup looks awesome, but that knife – WOW!!!! Holy cow! If you don;t mind my asking, how much was it? I think I need one.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know, right?! I don’t mind at all. Like 20 bucks. Not even kidding. The big blue letters are the Amazon link.
LikeLike
I noticed that after I contacted you. I just ordered one. It is SO beautiful!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yay! Yeah, Damacus knives are total knife porn.
LikeLiked by 2 people
🙂 🙂 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oddly — we made peanut soup in Girl Scouts once, pursuing a badge about world awareness or some such. I was the only scout who liked it, but once I was cooking for myself I made it very regularly. I think I got it from Ellen Gibson Wilson’s book, but I haven’t really looked at a recipe in years. Hadn’t thought of putting beer in it, though!
LikeLiked by 3 people
I love that! I remember when my daughter’s troop had their international fair, they were assigned to Iceland. The recipe for blueberry soup called for corn flour. No one will ever forget that when an Icelandic recipe lists corn flour, we need to read that as corn starch. Our blueberry tortilla soup was hilarious!
LikeLike
you should open your own restaurant!😌
LikeLike
To truly be a Damascus knife it needs to be made with Damascus steel which is a very hard steel created by forging several layers of steel together. The ornate designs were originally done so the origins of the knife were known so people would recognize the high level of craftsmanship.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That looks absolutely amazing. I have long been wanting to try African peanut soup and I think yours has finally pushed me over the edge. I’ll be giving this a try in the next week and I’ll let you know how it comes out.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for telling me that! I looked forward to hearing what you think! 😀
LikeLike
I never heard about this soup…looks really great and creamy… it’s totally my kinda soup… definitely I give it a go👍
Yeah that knife…. it’s beauuuuutiful 👌
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Jyo! I hope you love it!
LikeLike
This is my favourite Ghanaian soup, looks great 😊
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you so much, Akua!
LikeLiked by 2 people
[…] via Jen’s West African Peanut Soup and a stunning knife — Jennifer Guerrero […]
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much, OhioCook! 😁😘
LikeLike
looks so yummy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yum! It looks like a big bowl of peanut butter!!!! That knife is gorgeous!
LikeLiked by 2 people
The peanut butter taste is strong! Yum! Yeah, I love pretty knives!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahahaha my friends aren’t allowed to be non-spicy! Love this soup. At first it sounds so odd, but I love all of the ingredients!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Right?! I remember that first sip was tentative. That changed quickly!
LikeLiked by 1 person