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Food

Groundnut Stew Recipe

Who says turkey is just for roasting? Try this traditional West African stew instead.
groundnut-stew-recipe
Photo by Farideh Sadeghin

Servings: 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 whole turkey, skinned and chopped into 8 pieces
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
5 tablespoons groundnut oil
1 Scotch bonnet pepper
4 small yellow onions, diced
3 garlic cloves, mashed into a paste
2 heaping tablespoons tomato purée
½ cup|125 grams homemade groundnut butter or smooth peanut butter
2 cups|500 milliliters chicken stock

Directions

  1. Place the turkey pieces into a large bowl, and season with the salt, black pepper, and white pepper.

  1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the groundnut oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add the turkey and fry in batches until golden on one side, about 5 minutes. (The turkey should not overlap, as this will prevent it from browning.)
  2. Pierce the Scotch bonnet pepper with a sharp knife and add it to the pan. Piercing the pepper allows the stew to absorb the flavor of the pepper, but if it becomes too spicy it can be removed at any point. Shake the pan regularly so that the turkey does not stick. Add half of the garlic to the pan, flip the turkey, and fry until golden on the other side, about 5 minutes. (When given room in the pan, garlic caramelizes very quickly – this gives a lovely rich flavor and texture which attaches itself to the turkey.) Remove the turkey from the pan and reserve.
  3. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the diced onions and remaining 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil. Cook the onions, stirring regularly, until very soft and dark, about 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the tomato purée and the remaining garlic. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes, then add the groundnut butter and stir.
  4. Add the browned turkey back into the pan and add the stock slowly while stirring, so that it is incorporated into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced slightly and the turkey has cooked through, about 45 minutes. Serve hot.

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