African-Inspired Chicken and Vegetable Stew

This soup is one of the reasons I am glad we have real winters in Vancouver. (Sorry to the rest of Canada, I know we don’t have Real Winters like you do, but it seems cold enough to me.) I’m happy eat soup year round, but I know some people like to keep it to the colder months, so here’s one more for you, while we have this intermittent warm and cold Spring weather.

I know it might seem odd to add almond butter to soup, but trust me, it is awesome! It adds a creaminess in a way you cannot imagine until you eat it; it is creamy without any dairy. Plus there’s a little extra protein in it.

This recipe comes from this website. One thing I changed was adding 1/3 cup almond butter instead of 1/2 cup. I also changed the order of the cooking; I like to brown the chicken first, and the recipe called for adding it later with the broth and tomato.

Enjoy, because this is so good!

What you need:

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4-6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups tomato purée
• 2 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 3 pounds sweet potatoes  peeled and cut into 2-3cm pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• one minced fresh chili or 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cup almond butter

What you do:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and allow them to brown on each side.
2. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions, cooking for about 5 minutes, until softened. Now add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Add the sweet potatoes, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chill, then pour in the chicken stock and tomato purée. Cover the pot and bring it to a simmer; leaving it with the lid on for about 40 minutes, stirring from time to time.
4. Add the red peppers; take the lid off and cook for about 10 more minutes.
5. Remove the chicken pieces and take the meat off the bone. Use two forks pull the chicken apart, then put the chicken back into the soup.
6. Just before serving, stir in the almond butter.
7. Serve as is, or top it with a little cilantro.