West African Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless thighs (whole)
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Garnish optional: minced fresh parsley, sunflower seeds
Directions
Sprinkle the chicken enthusiastically with salt and pepper. Heat a large soup pot (or dutch oven) over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes. Add cononut oil and allow it to melt. Add the chicken in a single layer and brown well on both sides, about 10 minutes. Don't crowd the pan: cook in batches if you need to. Remove chicken to a bowl to catch the juices.
In the same pot, cook the onions and ginger until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander, cayenne, and bay leaf, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and water, stir to combine. Nestle the chicken into the sauce, along with the juices it released. (If you are doing the vegetarian version this is where you would add your veggies: okra, eggplant, zucchini, get creative!) Increase heat to bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pot: it will be very tender. Break the chicken into large pieces with the side of a wooden spoon. Add the sunflower seed butter and vanilla to the pot and mix to combine. (If doing the vegetarian version just add the final two ingredients without removing anything.) Return chicken to the pot and cover. Heat through about 5 minutes, then serve, sprinkled with parsley and sunflower seeds.
Personal notes from Michelle: We did the chicken version as written then after the stew had been cooking for about 15 minutes I added eggplant and okra. Cooked it for another 20 minutes. I didn't need to remove the chicken because it had fallen apart. Tasted fantastic!! All the kids loved it!
Note
Very good! We added okra and veggies to it. If you want to leave the chicken out and just add in veggies when you would add in the chicken. It would be a great vegetarian dish!
Comments (0)
No comments yet.