Peanut Soup
I first had peanut soup at a little café in LaCrosse WI while attending the MOSES organic farming conference. When I got home I tried making some, fussing with a recipe from The Ethnic Vegetarian. It’s not the same as what I had in LaCrosse, but it’s good in any case and like all soups, better when you try tinkering to make it yours.
Like most recipes – if you don’t see amounts it’s because I don’t keep track…base amounts on what seems right to you and make substitutions, omissions, or additions depending on your taste and what you have on hand.
Sauté sliced leeks and crushed garlic in olive oil.
You can also sauté carrots, celery, onions, and sweet or hot peppers (or both, course).
Add quartered plum tomatoes (in the winter, if you’ve got some frozen plum tomatoes stored away, just use those whole, they’ll break down as they cook.
Transfer vegetables to a stock pot and add 3 cups of vegetable broth, ½ cup peanut butter (or more, I like more), and season to taste.
Add ¼ cup of brown rice (or other rice of your choosing) – careful here – too much rice and you won’t have soup – you’ll have something good, but it won’t be soup.
Finally, add ½ cup of chopped peanuts (or not – I like the extra texture in the soup).
Simmer until the rice is tender.
