This African Split pea stew is guilt free, easy to make and loaded with just what your body needs. Even better for your next day lunch or next week too-lazy-to-make-dinner rescue meal.
African Split Pea Stew
Sometimes weekly meal plans are made, sometimes I just go with the flow. As a rule, I stick to my groceries list, but now and again I make a beeline for that one random item I haven’t played with for a little while. Today’s random not-on-the-list pick was split peas. I know! How could I desert this beauty for so long! Walking down the bean aisle for some black beans my eyes spotted these bright, green, long lost love and I couldn’t resist.
No soaking required? Count me in. Most grocery shopping days , we usually end up having a sandwich or a simple salad. Today I had a plan. A plan that involved peas, potatoes, kale a boatload of West African flavors and some me time. I’m guilty of making my day off a full errand day, but today wasn’t going to be one of those. A quick meal idea definitely helps too.
Wanted to make this as simple as ABC…..yet build the flavors I wanted.
This recipe calls for roasted peanuts. Peanuts in all its forms is a very essential pantry item with African cuisine. Raw, roasted, ground, you name it. With this recipe I pan roasted some raw peanuts. You can definitely buy some roasted peanuts (no salt added). Roasting it this way brings back some great childhood memories that I can’t help but hang on to.
Say hello to this simple, after-groceries quick fix with some much needed west African vibe.
West African Split Pea Stew
Ingredients
- 1 cup split peas
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup red skin potatoes (peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes)
- 1 and 1/2 cup packed chopped kale
- 5 cups of water
- 1 medium red or yellow onions sliced ( about 1 cup)
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
- 2 Tbsp. ground roasted peanut powder.
- 1 Tbsp. crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon crushed ginger
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 Tbsp. peanut oil (or vegetable /olive oil)
- salt to taste
Directions
- To a large skillet, add sliced onions and 1/3 cup of water. Bring to boil and cook until water almost completely evaporated. Add diced tomatoes and peanut oil, then sauté for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add crushed garlic, ginger and cook for another minute or so then stir in peas, 3 cups of water , 1 teaspoon of salt, bring to a quick boil.
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer on medium for about 15 minutes.
- After, add in potatoes, kale, ground peanuts, black pepper, 2 cups of water and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add chopped green onions, Season to taste with salt.
- Serve as it or with some baked bread.
Great post and pics. Can’t wait to try this.