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.
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