Ground Nut Soup

A delicious soup/stew origination from Africa made with peanuts, spices, and optionally a meat. When I was reading about this dish, I was surprised to learn about its origins that since Legume are not native to Africa but are from south America that this dish originated around the 1560s when peanuts were brought with the Spanish conquistadors. In the years that I lived in Ghana it was a favorite dish to prepare for guests. While the idea of adding multiple meats and peanut butter into a soup/stew sounds totally crazy what you get is a complex and rich flavor with a smooth broth to round out the feel. depending on your love or tolerance of spice you will want to add or hold off on adding some of the hot peppers but in African society most foods are incredibly spicy to help sterilize foods since many people there do not have access to clean water they will add spicy food to kill bacteria and germs. While this makes it very inconvenient to eat if you do not have a palette for spicy food it is a creative way to use the resources around you and to make delicious food.