African Peanut Potato Stew

I really need to catch up on several recipes I've made over the past couple weeks. Yikes! For starters, here's an amazing African stew we had a few days ago, that we gobbled up in no time. The original recipe uses sweet potatoes, but neither Brad nor I care for them, so I decided to replace them with regular potatoes instead. The stew is thick, rich and spicy, the chickpeas are soft and tender, and the potato chunks soak up all kinds of flavor.

To go with this, I made my favorite go-to recipe of Flat Bread. I've lost count of how many times I've made this bread over the past year, but it goes so well with soups and stews that we eat it all the time.

African Peanut Potato Stew

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 14.5 ounce cans chopped tomatoes
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
¼ cup natural peanut butter
1 pound green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces (fresh or frozen)

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and jalapeno; cook and stir several minutes or until onion is softened and translucent. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, salt, cinnamon, red pepper and coriander. Cook and stir 1 minute. Add potatoes, tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable broth and peanut butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Add green beans, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until green beans are crisp tender. Serve hot.

Spicy Black Bean Tamale Pie

This dish kicks ass! I first made it last December when I was too busy to blog, so it's been sitting amongst my drafts for the past 3 months, patiently waiting to be posted until I made it again today.

I based it on this recipe from the eggs on sunday blog. I left out the garlic, upped the chili powder, omitted the cinnamon, subbed a can of Ro-tel for the jalapeno, added a can of black eyed peas (because I love them so), omitted the cheese, and used a vegan cornbread recipe for the topping instead of the more polenta-like topping in the original recipe. I also like to brown the corn with the onion and bell pepper, to get it toasty and delicious. And I use what may sound like an insane amount of cilantro, but I'm kind of crazy about cilantro, and it does lose some of its flavor when it cooks.

The filling is to die for. Each time I've made it, Brad and I have hovered over the stove, scooping up big mouthfuls with tortilla chips. If you wanted, you could add another can or two or Ro-tel, and you'd have yourself a kick ass salsa. The filling would also be equally as delicious served over rice as it is in tamale pie form. It just depends on what you're craving.

I love this meal. So very, very much.

Tamale Pie

Filling:
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 15-oz can corn, drained
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can Rotel (I like to use the extra spicy variety)
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
1 cup almond milk mixed with 1 tsp vinegar
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and corn. Saute several minutes, until onion and bell pepper begin to soften, and all vegetables are somewhat browned. Add remaining ingredients, cooking and stirring until heated through. Pour into a 9x9 baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine almond milk and vinegar. Stir together and set aside while you measure and combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, salt and baking powder. Add milk and vegetable oil. Stir thoroughly. Spread over bean filling. Bake 20-30 minutes, until cornbread topping is cooked through (you can test it with a toothpick).

If desired, sprinkle 1 cup grated cheddar cheese on the filling before adding the topping.