Senegal: Chicken & Vegetables in Peanut Sauce, Black-Eyed Pea Salad, & Peanut Ice Cream

Senegal is the world capitol for peanuts! They grow a lot of peanuts and therefore 2 out of my 3 recipes are heavily flavored by peanuts. Each recipe I cooked was delicious - I especially loved the peanut ice cream - two of my favorite things! Enjoy!

Chicken & Vegetables in a Peanut Sauce

Serves: 5-6

1 1/2 Cups Unsalted Roasted Peanuts OR 1 Cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
3 Cups Water
3-4 Lbs Chicken (Breasts, Thighs, etc.)
2 Tbsp Oil
1 Onion, peeled and chopped
1 Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Can Diced Tomatoes w/ Juice
1 1/2 Tsp Cayenne
2 Tsp Salt
- My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz
2 Medium Potatoes, peeled and chopped
3-4 Medium Turnips, peeled and chopped
1 Lb Spinach
White Rice

Preheat the oven to 325°F. If you are using peanuts, blend them in a blender until they are creamy. Then put the peanut butter into a bowl and mix with 1 1/2 cups of water.

Season the chicken with salt. Heat the oil in a large pan and brown the chicken on all sides. Set chicken aside in a large ungreased baking pan. In the same pan saute the onion and bell pepper until it is fragrant. Add the garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Stir in the peanut butter mixture and remaining water, tomatoes with juice, salt, and cayenne pepper. Simmer for a few minutes.

Pour the mixture over the chicken and mix in the vegetables. Put in the oven and cook for 45-60 minutes.

While that is cooking, saute the spinach in a little bit of water or oil. Also, cook the white rice.

Serve with spinach and rice.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Serves 8-10

1/2 Lb Black-Eyed Peas, soaked in water overnight
1 Quart Water
1 Tsp Salt
- My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz
1 Tomato, diced
1 Cucumber, peeled and diced
1 Bell Pepper, seeded and diced
1 Cup Green Onions, minced
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley, minced
Juice of 2 Limes
1 Habanero Pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
2/3 Cup Olive Oil
8-10 Lettuce Leaves for serving

Allow the black-eyed peas to soak overnight - this will allow for a faster cooking time.

 In a large saucepan, boil the peas in 1 quart of water for 30 minutes to a hour (until tender - it may take more depending how long they soaked). Season with salt while cooking. Drain and set them aside.

In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients (except the peas and lettuce). Mix well. Combine the mixture and peas. Cover and let it sit for 1 hour (on counter or in the refrigerator).

Serve by using the lettuce leaves to scoop the salad.

Peanut Ice Cream - Yummy!

Serves: 8-10

1 (14 oz) Can Evaporated Milk
1 Can Condensed Milk
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Cup Peanut Butter
4 Tbsp Lemon Juice

In a large saucepan, immerse the can of evaporated milk in water. Boil the can for 20 minutes. Chill the can in the refrigerator for several hours.

Once it is chilled, whip the evaporated milk in a cold bowl for a few minutes. Add the lemon juice and sugar.

In another bowl, combine the peanut butter, condensed milk and milk. Mix well.

Fold the two mixtures together well. Freeze the mixture in the freezer.

Ghana: Spinach & Beef Stew, Couscous Salad, Black-Eyed Peas & Rice, And Banana Peanut Bread

I'm still in the process of moving, unpacking, and organizing everything so please excuse my lack of pictures. We moved into a place with a smaller kitchen and less storage space, so my kitchen is kind of a mess right now, especially when cooking! Hopefully next time it will be more organized for better pictures haha. Enjoy!

Spinach & Beef Stew (Shoko)

Serves 8-10

3 Cans of Tomatoes, diced w/ juicee

1 Hot Chili

4 Medium Onions, whole

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 Lb Stewing Beef

Oil

1 Cup Water or Beef Broth

1/4 Tsp. Sugar

1/4 Tsp. Salt

-My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz

2 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper (I put a little more in)

2 Tsp. Minced Fresh Ginger

1 Lb. Spinach

Combine chili, tomatoes, onions and green bell pepper in blender/food processor. Process until minced. 

Heat the oil in a large pot and saute vegetables and beef for 5-7 minutes on high heat. Then add the water, sugar, salt, ginger, and cayenne pepper and stir. Cover and lower heat to a simmer for 2 hours. Stirring occasionally. 

Rinse and soak the spinach for 10 minutes. Rinse and tear/shred. After the stew has simmered for 2 hours add the spinach and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. 

Couscous Salad 

Serves 8-10

2 Cups Couscous

- TRY: Bob's Red Mill Couscous Golden, 24-Ounce (Pack of 4)

1 Can Black Beans

1 Can Whole Kernel Corn

2 Tomatoes, diced

1 Cup Cilantro, chopped

1 Lime, juice

Cook couscous as directed (usually for every 1 cup couscous cook with 1 1/4 cup water/broth - bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat - cook 15 minutes). Then add in the rest of the ingredients, stir and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Black-eyed Peas & Rice (Watchi)

Serves 8-10

2 Cups Dried Black-eyed Peas, rinsed & soaked overnight

2 Bay Leaves

1 Piece Kombu (kelp/seaweed)

- My FAV: Emerald Cove Silver Grade Pacific Kombu (Dried Seaweed), 1.76 Ounce Bag

3 Cups Cooked Rice, brown long grain

Salt 

-My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz

Pepper

Sauce:

1 Tbl Oil

2 Tbl Whole Wheat Flour

1 Large Onion, sliced

1 Cup Tomato Paste

1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg

Rinse soaked peas. Add peas to a large pot and fill with water about 2 inches above peas. Add bay leaves and kombu. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Most of the water should be evaporated by the end of cooking. Discard bay leaves and kombu (kombu most likely won't be a solid anymore). 

For Sauce: Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add flour in and cook over low heat for a few minutes. Add in onions and cook until brown. Mix in tomato paste and nutmeg well. Add water to desire consistency (somewhat thick). 

Mix in the sauce with the rice and beans.

Banana Peanut Bread

Yields 12+ Slices

4 Cups of All-Purpose Flour

4 Tsp. Baking Powder

1 Tsp. Salt

- My FAV: Eden Foods Sea Salt -- 14 oz

1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda

10 Oz. Butter

2 1/2 Cups Sugar

4 Eggs

8 Ripe & Mashed Bananas

1/2 Cup Peanuts, chopped

1 tsp. Cinnamon

Stir the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together well in a bowl. In a separate bowl stir/cream the butter with 2 cups sugar then blend in the eggs. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and then fold in the mashed bananas. Add the peanuts in and stir everything well. Pour in a baking dish (9 x 12) and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Once cake is done, take out of  the oven and sprinkle with remaining sugar and cinnamon.