Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Spicy African Peanut Slow Cooker Soup

Because my dear friend Ag requested it, I am posting the recipe for the slow cooker soup I mentioned yesterday in my post. This is the second time I made this recipe from the cookbook, Peas and Thank You and it was definitely even more delicious this time around! Claire ate quite a bit of the soup, but definitely seemed to enjoy the chickpeas the most! Brant said he liked it and had a second serving- I responded by saying- "Glad you liked it, because it's going to be your lunch tomorrow!"

I made a couple modifications which I will share with you below. Hope you enjoy it, Ag and anyone else who tries it!

Spicy African Peanut Slow Cooker Soup  (Original recipe from Peas and Thank You by Sarah Matheny, modifications added below)

Ingredients:
1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 sweet potato, cubed (approximately 1 cup)
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 to 3/4 tsp garam masala (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
sweetner to taste (I used a few tsp of maple syrup)
dash of cinnamon
1 14 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes, in juice*
1 14 oz can light coconut milk**
2 cups vegetable broth***
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1/2 cup red lentils
*I also added chopped and steamed spinach and kale to the soup right before serving.

Garnishes: cilantro, peants, dairy free or regular sour cream or plain yogurt

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a Crockpot and set on high for about a half an hour, and then switch to low for an additional 3-4 hours. (I'm sure every crockpot is a little different, but I had mine on the high setting for 4-5 hours before it was ready, stirring occasionally)

*I actually doubled the recipe, and used 1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes and 1 can of no-salt added diced tomatoes because we generally try to minimize excess salt in our diets
**Again, I doubled the recipe and intended to use 1 can of coconut milk and then 14 oz of almond milk to reduce the overall fat content, but ran out of room in my crock pot. I ended up using just the one can of coconut milk for the double recipe and it worked out fine!
*** I replaced the vegetable broth with carrot juice also to reduce the salt in the soup. I often use my juicer to make carrot juice, but today I just used some bottled carrot juice- I've used both Odwalla and Bolthouse Farms brands of carrot juice. I think the carrot juice adds a nice sweetness to soups and added nutrition.

4 comments:

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  2. This sounds delicious! Can't wait to try it this weekend! Do you think it will taste just as good using only Almond milk instead of coconut milk?

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  3. I think it would still taste good because of all the spices, but it just might not be as rich. You could stir in some low-fat plain yogurt or non-dairy yogurt for each individual serving and that would make it creamier. Hope you like it!

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    1. Great idea! Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't get a chance to make this yet, but I am looking forward to making it soon.

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