Spicy Peanut Eggplant And Shallot Stew
Submitted by Terry
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| prep time: 10 minutes | cooking time: 45 minutes - 1 hour | makes 6 - 8 |
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This soup is very rich and comforting. Just imagine a tawny bowl brimming with eggplant, tomato bits and green bean goodness. I made it for my boyfriend/husband guy, since his favorite soup place stopped carrying his beloved chicken peanut soup. I've never had it but I suspect mine is even better, without the bird to boot.
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Equipment:
Colander
Soup pot
Mixing bowl
Ingredients
1 lb. Eggplant, peeled, chopped in 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp salt
4 oz. Shallots, peeled and sliced very thin
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 hot chili, seeded and minced
1” cube of ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 16 oz. Can roasted diced tomatoes w/ juice
5 cups water or light veggie broth
1/2 cup creamy or chunky natural peanut butter
6 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, lightly packed
chopped roasted peanuts and cilantro leaves for garnish
Directions
In a large bowl or colander toss eggplant cubes with salt. Allow to sit of 30 minutes to soften, then gently rinse eggplant chunks with cold running water. Drain and set aside.
In a large stock pot heat 2 T peanut oil over medium high heat. Add shallots and fry, occasionally stirring, for about 20 minutes until very soft, browned and slightly caramelized. Scoop shallots out of pot and set aside.
Add 1 T of oil to pot and add eggplant, stirring to coat with oil. Stir and cook eggplant for 12-15 minutes until slightly tender. Remove eggplant from heat and set aside (I toss it in the same bowl with the shallots).
Add remaining 1 T of oil to the pot again, then add ginger and chile and fry for 30 seconds. Add ground cumin, coriander, tumeric and fry for another 30 second then add onion. Stir and fry till onion is just slightly soft and translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir and fry mixture for 1 minute.
Pour diced tomatoes, water or broth, eggplant, string beans and shallots into pot with frying onion/spice mixture. Stir to combined and raise heat to medium high. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat.
In a separate bowl stir peanut butter to combine any separated oils. Pour a ladleful of hot soup onto peanut butter. Stir peanut butter with soup till creamy and peanut butter is completely emulsified. Scrape peanut butter mixture into rest of simmering soup, stirring to combine.
Simmer soup on medium-low heat, covered, for 35-45 minutes or until eggplant is very tender. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Salt to taste after soup has cooled for at least half an hour. True to soup form, the taste improves when heated up the next day. |
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Reviews (add your own)
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| martha wrote on Sunday December 17th, 2006 09:01 PM |
 four soybeans |
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i made some slight adjustments -- my sweetie doesn't like egglant, so we used potatoes, and we didn't have string beans and substituted spinach -- but it was still sooo delicious! this will be a new household favorite. next time we'll try the beans. |
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| jess wrote on Monday December 11th, 2006 10:56 AM |
four soybeans |
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Terry is a soup goddess!
This one hits every bone in your body, and tingles and feels good. Spicy and warm and peanutty and chock full of veggies..yum |
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| icY wrote on Thursday December 28th, 2006 09:19 PM |
four soybeans |
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this soup is the best! the best! |
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| Lesley wrote on Wednesday January 10th, 2007 02:23 PM |
four soybeans |
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Incredibly delicious, three days in a row. Just the right heat--even my four-year-old, who likes spice, loved it. I can see trying it with lots of different vegetables in the future. |
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| Tony wrote on Thursday January 25th, 2007 04:15 PM |
four soybeans |
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Spectacular. On a cold day in Canada - 13 C it warms the core and brings back memories of fall. Good stuff. The freeze in California made some of the veges costly. Guess I have to think more local and pay the carbon tax. Recipe is 5 maple leafs- thats good. |
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