Groundnut Stew with Greens
Groundnut stew is hospitality in pot form: it thickens, it stretches, and it has never once been measured by the people who make it best.
- Time
- 1 hr
- Serves
- 4–6
- Patience
- Gentle
- Occasion
- Everyday
Where this dish comes from
Versions of groundnut (peanut) stew, maafe, nkate nkwan, and many cousins, appear across West and Central Africa, each with its own meats, greens, and heat. What they share is the logic: ground nuts turning broth into something that clings to rice.
This family-style base leans Senegalese-Ghanaian in spirit. Treat it as scaffolding for the version someone in your family already knows by hand.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone-in chicken pieces or beef chunks
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 scotch bonnet, whole
- 1 bunch hardy greens (collards, kale, or spinach), sliced
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- Salt and seasoning cube, to taste
The method
Step 1: Season the meat with salt and brown it in oil in a heavy pot. Remove and set aside.
Step 2: In the same pot, soften the onion, then add garlic, ginger, and tomato paste. Fry until brick-red and fragrant.
Step 3: Whisk the peanut butter with two cups of warm stock until smooth, then pour into the pot with the remaining stock.
Step 4: Return the meat, drop in the whole scotch bonnet, and simmer gently, partly covered, for 35–45 minutes. Stir from the bottom, peanut catches.
Step 5: When the meat is tender and oil beads on the surface, add the greens and cook until silky.
Step 6: Fish out the scotch bonnet before it bursts (unless your family bursts it on purpose). Taste, season, and serve over rice or with fufu.
Family notes ✎
- The stew is done when the oil separates and rises: elders watch for the sheen, not the clock.
- Sweet potato or pumpkin chunks are a common addition that makes the pot go further.
Substitutions
- Smooth commercial peanut butter works; reduce added salt.
- Vegetarian? Mushrooms and sweet potato carry it beautifully, keep the stock rich.
On the calendarA weeknight pot that behaves like a weekend one.
Go deeper
The Nigerian-American Table
Nigerian home cooking for the diaspora kitchen: 51 recipes, a U.S. pantry guide, and the occasion behind every dish.
Get the guide, $29
