#245 African Chicken Nut Butter Stew

African cuisine covers so many different soups, stews, rice and meat and mostly uses local ingredients. The rice is cooked with root vegetables such as yucca or potatoes and then mixed with a grain like millet, rice or corn. The recipes vary depending on the region or area. Along the coastline, people mix fish into their stews, while in the middle of the continent, they use meat. When the weather gets colder stews are also flavored with different spices that are regional in nature. The people living along the old trade routes from Asia typically use Asian spices, while others use no spices at all. This soup is normally slow cooked using peanuts crushed or ground to a paste to help round out the acidity of the tomatoes and of course it also pairs so well with sweet potatoes. Although the soup calls for chicken in bone as an ingredient, I've added chicken buillon and broth instead so feel free to brown up 1/2 lb of chicken thighs into the broth as you cook the vegetables.  I've also replaced peanut butter with almond butter only because I had some handy.  Lately, the temperature has been dropping rapidly and a bowl of this warm soup is truly comforting!!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2-3 cubes chicken bouillon
3/4 cup Almond butter
1 14.5-ounce can chopped tomatoes in juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
2 quart chicken broth
12 cups sliced collard greens or kale(I've used Kale)

Directions
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add onion, garlic and ginger to pan; cook, stirring, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, 1/2 cup almond butter, and cayenne; stir in chicken broth. Bring to a simmer; cook until sweet potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in collard greens or kale; cook until greens are tender, about 5 minutes more. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup nut butter before serving