From Gourmet Today, edited by Ruth Reichl (page 146)
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
5 cups water
1/4 cup peanut oil
4 chicken drumsticks
salt
4 chicken thighs
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 T tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes in juice, drained
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2 fresh hot red chiles, including seeds
1 medium eggplant (1 pound)
1 large sweet potato (1 pound)
1 cup fresh or frozen sliced okra
Stir together peanut butter and 1 cup water until smooth.
Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Pat drumsticks dry and sprinkle with 1/4 t salt. Brown drumsticks in oil, turning occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Pat thighs dry, sprinkle with 1/4 t salt, and brown in same manner; transfer to bowl.
Pour of all but 2 T fat from pot. Add onion and cook over medium heat until golden around edges, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minutes. Add peanut butter mixture, remaining 4 cups water, diced tomatoes, stock, chicken with any juices from the bowl, chiles, and 1 t salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, trim eggplant and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Add eggplant to soup and simmer, partially covered, for 5 minutes. While eggplant simmers, peel sweet potato and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Add sweet potato and okra, partially cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potato is tender, 15-18 minutes. Salt as desired.
Note: After the soups cooks, you can remove the chicken meat from the bones and return bite-sized pieces to the pot.
My peanut oil was the roasted kind so even the browning chicken smelled amazing. I love fat but bit the bullet and poured off the extra before browning the onion. All went according to the recipe (briefly!) and then I noticed there was no size mentioned for the can of chopped tomatoes so I just used what I had on hand which was a 26 oz. box and put it all in, including the juice (when has tomato juice ever caused harm in a soup?). I doubled the salt (according to this week's newspaper it has nothing to do with high blood pressure and everything to do with happiness) and doubled the chile peppers (the outside pots are still producing mucho 6" fresh cayennes).
The soup smelled amazing even before the vegetables went in. Once the chicken was tender and the vegetables went in (I had to use frozen okra so I used all 3 cups in the bag rather than have a forlorn partial bag in the freezer) I realized the soup was quite thick, more like stew than soup. Okra's slime thickens dishes a lot so I added the rest of the chicken stock in the box for a total of 4 cups of broth to make it more soupy. Pulled the meat off the bones, added even more salt, and had an incredible dinner plus 4 quart containers for the freezer. Yay!!
I was unable to find peanut oil, so substituted olive oil. This was fine, but I know it would have been even better with a good-quality roasted oil. I stuck with boneless, skinless chicken thighs so I wouldn't have to fish out the bones later. The chicken was so tender that it almost melted when I ate it - an effect I am usually unable to achieve. Other than these changes, I stuck to the recipe fairly closely.
I am always looking for ways to use my frozen habaneros (which my mother keeps me supplied with - thank you!), so I used just one chile in this dish and it imparted perfect heat and flavor. I used a 14-ounce can of tomatoes, undrained, as I was worried I'd made the soup too spicy. I am lucky to have fresh okra and tender Asian eggplants available year-round at my local Indian grocer, so I used those. I also purchased the only sweet potatoes the store had, which were the purple Asian variety - not perfect for this soup but still very tasty.
I just had another bowl of soup for lunch, and it was just as delicious as last night. The aforementioned okra "slime" did thicken it overnight, but I wasn't too bothered by this. I'll also try serving over white rice, curry-style.
A truly amazing recipe!
... and happy Halloween! (I think this photo is acceptable to post, Mom, because your costume is clearly in keeping with the culinary theme. You have some pretty weird companions, though - not sure why you invited both the Grim Reaper and Laura Ingalls Wilder to the picnic!)
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
5 cups water
1/4 cup peanut oil
4 chicken drumsticks
salt
4 chicken thighs
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 T tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes in juice, drained
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2 fresh hot red chiles, including seeds
1 medium eggplant (1 pound)
1 large sweet potato (1 pound)
1 cup fresh or frozen sliced okra
Stir together peanut butter and 1 cup water until smooth.
Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Pat drumsticks dry and sprinkle with 1/4 t salt. Brown drumsticks in oil, turning occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Pat thighs dry, sprinkle with 1/4 t salt, and brown in same manner; transfer to bowl.
Pour of all but 2 T fat from pot. Add onion and cook over medium heat until golden around edges, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minutes. Add peanut butter mixture, remaining 4 cups water, diced tomatoes, stock, chicken with any juices from the bowl, chiles, and 1 t salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, trim eggplant and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Add eggplant to soup and simmer, partially covered, for 5 minutes. While eggplant simmers, peel sweet potato and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Add sweet potato and okra, partially cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potato is tender, 15-18 minutes. Salt as desired.
Note: After the soups cooks, you can remove the chicken meat from the bones and return bite-sized pieces to the pot.
ANN'S VERSION: This Soup Made My Day!!!
This is one of the best soups I've ever had anywhere. It wasn't one I could throw together out of the pantry since it needed an eggplant and okra, but it's well worth a trip to the grocery store. Reading the recipe I realized it was going to be quite different from my usual soups, so I tried to stick to the instructions (good luck with that!). I knew Gordon wouldn't eat it (eggplant, onion and chile) so I started with an extra chicken thigh and drumstick, figuring I could fish them out midway through and with some rice he'd have an acceptable supper. That worked well!My peanut oil was the roasted kind so even the browning chicken smelled amazing. I love fat but bit the bullet and poured off the extra before browning the onion. All went according to the recipe (briefly!) and then I noticed there was no size mentioned for the can of chopped tomatoes so I just used what I had on hand which was a 26 oz. box and put it all in, including the juice (when has tomato juice ever caused harm in a soup?). I doubled the salt (according to this week's newspaper it has nothing to do with high blood pressure and everything to do with happiness) and doubled the chile peppers (the outside pots are still producing mucho 6" fresh cayennes).
The soup smelled amazing even before the vegetables went in. Once the chicken was tender and the vegetables went in (I had to use frozen okra so I used all 3 cups in the bag rather than have a forlorn partial bag in the freezer) I realized the soup was quite thick, more like stew than soup. Okra's slime thickens dishes a lot so I added the rest of the chicken stock in the box for a total of 4 cups of broth to make it more soupy. Pulled the meat off the bones, added even more salt, and had an incredible dinner plus 4 quart containers for the freezer. Yay!!
CASSIE'S VERSION: It Made Mine, Too!
This was incredible - definitely the best thing I've made in recent memory. I got tied up last night but was determined to have it for dinner. I finally sat down to a very fragrant, extremely filling bowl of this soup around 10pm, and it was worth the wait.I was unable to find peanut oil, so substituted olive oil. This was fine, but I know it would have been even better with a good-quality roasted oil. I stuck with boneless, skinless chicken thighs so I wouldn't have to fish out the bones later. The chicken was so tender that it almost melted when I ate it - an effect I am usually unable to achieve. Other than these changes, I stuck to the recipe fairly closely.
I am always looking for ways to use my frozen habaneros (which my mother keeps me supplied with - thank you!), so I used just one chile in this dish and it imparted perfect heat and flavor. I used a 14-ounce can of tomatoes, undrained, as I was worried I'd made the soup too spicy. I am lucky to have fresh okra and tender Asian eggplants available year-round at my local Indian grocer, so I used those. I also purchased the only sweet potatoes the store had, which were the purple Asian variety - not perfect for this soup but still very tasty.
I just had another bowl of soup for lunch, and it was just as delicious as last night. The aforementioned okra "slime" did thicken it overnight, but I wasn't too bothered by this. I'll also try serving over white rice, curry-style.
A truly amazing recipe!
... and happy Halloween! (I think this photo is acceptable to post, Mom, because your costume is clearly in keeping with the culinary theme. You have some pretty weird companions, though - not sure why you invited both the Grim Reaper and Laura Ingalls Wilder to the picnic!)
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