Groundnut soup, a vegetarian recipe from Ghana

Name: Groundnut soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Ghana
Ingredients: 150 g natural peanut paste (unsweetened); 4 ripe tomatoes; 1 large onion; 1 scotch bonnet chilli (or to taste); 3 cm fresh ginger; 2 garlic cloves; 1 large sweet potato, diced; 150 g okra, sliced into rounds; 2 tbsp neutral oil; 1 litre vegetable stock labelled gluten free; Salt

Method

Blend the tomatoes, onion, chilli, ginger and garlic to a smooth purée.
Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the purée for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring, until it thickens and loses its raw taste.
In a bowl, whisk the peanut paste with 250 ml hot stock until you have a smooth, lump-free cream.
Pour the peanut cream and the remaining stock into the pan. Salt, bring to the boil, then lower the heat.
Add the sweet potato and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly so the peanut does not catch on the bottom.
Add the okra and cook for another 10 minutes. The soup should coat a spoon, with peanut oil beading on the surface.
Adjust the salt and serve with rice, fufu or rice balls.

In Ghana this soup is traditionally served with rice balls (omo tuo) for dipping into the broth. Choose a peanut paste with no added sugar or salt for a much more authentic flavour.

The techniques this recipe uses

Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

Which peanut paste should I buy?

Plain groundnut paste with no added sugar or salt. A sweetened supermarket peanut butter throws the whole soup off, since it depends on the bitterness of the peanut playing against chilli and tomato.

It keeps catching on the bottom. How do I stop that?

Peanut settles and scorches fast. Slacken it first in 250 ml of hot stock until smooth, then stir regularly through the 20-minute simmer, scraping the base of the pan.

How do I know it is ready?

It should coat a spoon and groundnut oil should bead on the surface. Until that oil appears the peanut has not cooked long enough and still tastes raw.

Groundnut soup

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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