A lot of people have heard me talk about this stew. This was the first dish I made when I went vegan, and it helped me go from “I’m probably not going to stick with this life choice, realistically” to “Wow, maybe I can do this.” I wasn’t a chef yet- I was a music teacher and had no idea what I was doing in terms of vegan food.
Since that first time I made this nearly seven years ago, I’ve served it to all kinds of people. I made it to impress the parents of various partners (shoutout if you’re one of those parents or ex-partners) and I made it in my interview with the chef who ended up giving me the prep cook job that lead to be become a chef myself. It’s always been a crowd pleaser, including among folks with very limited exposure to international foods (let alone West African foods.) It’s just so hearty and soulful and fresh, and it covers all your major food groups (except the tequila food group and the french fry food group), so it feels really filling and nourishing.
- 2 large onions, diced
- pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 quart vegetable stock (or water + bouillon)
- 2/3 cup brown rice
- 1.5 lb sweet potato, peeled and diced (aprox. two medium sweet potatoes or one huge one)
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 bunch of kale, washed and torn
- Place the rice in a small , covered pot on high heat with one cup of the broth. Once it’s boiling, reduce to low heat and simmer until the rice is about two thirds of the way done (about 25 minutes)
- Sauté your onions in a large pot on medium-high heat until they are deeply golden-brown and caramelized. Once the onions are about a minute from being done, add garlic and saute until just beginning to brown
- Add the remaining broth, sweet potatoes, chickpeas and par-cooked rice. Cover and cook on medium heat until the rice is fully cooked and the sweet potatoes are soft. It will take a while- about 20 minutes or longer- but this allows everything to really soak in the flavors.
- In a bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, soy sauce and peanut butter. Add it into the pot and add the kale in as well. You may need to add a bit more broth/water.
- Taste and adjust the levels of lemon juice, peanut butter and soy sauce to your liking
- Cook for another 3-5 minutes until the kale is wilted
Katya Weiss-Anderson 