African Peanut Stew (with Sweet Potatoes)

My love for sweet potatoes is well-known. I think my obsession may be at a point where I'd eat them for every meal if it were nutritionally feasible. I'm becoming notorious in my office for consuming a large roasted sweet potato, split and stuffed with a generous portion of goat cheese, for lunch nearly every day. It's my go-to favorite meal.

It doesn't hurt that in addition to being crazy-delicious, sweet potatoes are chock-full of Vitamins A and C, beta-carotene, and are an excellent source of potassium.

But as they say (or as I say, anyway), there's more than one way to eat a sweet potato. If roasted sweet potatoes with goat cheese are my favorite preparation, my second-favorite is African Peanut Stew. I don't know why, but the sweetness of the sweet potatoes and the creamy, nutty richness of the peanut butter is a winning combination. For extra creaminess and substantially more protein, I also like to add black-eyed peas. In these cold Boston winters, this recipe is comfort in a bowl.

You can serve this as a traditional stew, by itself, or over a bed of your favorite grains. I recommend either Trader Joe's Harvest Blend (with Israeli couscous, red quinoa, and vegetable orzo) or millet.

Query: Does soup taste better out of an extra-pretty bowl that has crows and a moon painted on it? I think it does.

Ingredients

• 1 t coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 T fresh grated ginger
• 1 to 2 large sweet potatoes, diced (the exact amount is up to you, but always err on the side of more sweet potato)
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 T cumin
• 1 t coriander
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground cardamom
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/2 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and cooked 1 1/2 hours (or 1 can black-eyed peas)
• 2 cups chopped green cabbage
• 1 can petite cut diced tomatoes
• 1 cup apple juice
•  1/4 cup natural unsalted peanut butter (almond butter also works beautifully here)
• chicken or vegetable stock, as needed
• salt and pepper, to taste

 Instructions

Prepare ahead: Rinse and soak dried black-eyed peas, if using, according to instructions on the bag.

1. Melt the coconut oil (or pour the olive oil) into a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onions and sauté about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add the ginger, sweet potatoes, and spices. Sauté for 5 more minutes.
3. Add beans, cabbage, tomatoes, and apple juice. Stir until all ingredients are well incorporated.
4. Add in the peanut butter. Stir thoroughly. If stew seems too thick, add chicken or vegetable stock until you achieve the desired consistency.
5. Cover and let simmer 30 minutes.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide into bowls, inhale the sweet-spicy-nutty aroma, and try not to swoon too hard.

Serves 4-5

Pumpkin Ricotta Crepes

Sometimes, I have flashes of inspiration. Sometimes, I also have a container of canned pumpkin and a container of ricotta that simultaneously need using up before they expire in my fridge. What to do? Pumpkin-ricotta...something. Pasta? Already done that. Erm. Dessert? Yes. Yes indeedy.

My French-Canadian heritage came to the rescue with the idea for crepes with a sweet pumpkin-ricotta filling. Now we're talking.

There does not seem to be a recipe out there for pumpkin-ricotta crepes, so I made my own. Rest assured, they are scrumptious. I'm a veteran crepe-maker by now. I can whittle down the recipe to a single serving, too, so I don't spend ages making a full batch and getting hungrier as I watch the stovetop. But I'll scale up the measurements a little for those of you who plan on sharing.

Pumpkin-Ricotta Crepes

serves 4-6, depending on how many crepes you can eat

Ingredients for the Crepes:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 shakes cinnamon

4 shakes cinnamon sugar

1.5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (or more as needed)

Ingredients for the filling:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup ricotta (I used part-skim)

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

4 shakes cinnamon

Pumpkin butter (optional)

Directions:

To make the crepes, mix the flour, salt, and cinnamon, then add the egg, melted butter, and milk, and stir to combine. Add additional milk if necessary until batter reaches desired consistency. Batter should be thin and even with no lumps.

Heat a nonstick pan on low heat with a little butter, oil, or cooking spray applied in a thin even coat over the surface of the pan. For each crepe, pour a little batter into pan and tilt to coat the bottom of the pan. Flip to cook both sides-- crepe may just start to curl up on the edges when ready to be flipped. As each crepe is ready, remove to a large plate.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mix the pumpkin, ricotta, sugar, and cinnamon together until well-combined. Taste filling, if desired, to adjust sugar or cinnamon as necessary.

When crepes are done, first spread one side of each crepe with pumpkin butter, if desired. Then, place a generous dollop of filling along the center of the crepe. Roll crepe gently, enjoy, and have a fork at the ready to catch up any filling that oozes out onto your plate as you eat.