(Updated July 2014) Several years ago, my husband and I were thumbing through Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home when my husband stopped at this recipe and said, “Let’s try this one.” I looked at it. . . and then I looked at him like he was insane. Pineapple, onions, and kale? And peanut butter? What kind of crazy combination is that?
That was before I learned something that D. already knew: Unusual combinations often make the best dishes. We tried this mixture of peanut butter and pineapple, and it was terrific. And it was the first time I really loved kale.
Since then, this dish has become a family favorite, though its higher fat content puts it into the category of “special occasions” for me. I have adapted the recipe to remove the oil in the original, which is really unnecessary for sautéing. And I’ve increased the kale and replaced the cilantro with parsley (because I can’t eat cilantro).
I’ve also managed to reduce the peanut butter on occasion by replacing some or all of it with peanut butter powder. And as of 2014, the most recent change I’ve made is to add chickpeas to make it more filling as my daughter has grown from a child to a young woman. (The original recipe is here, if you’re interested.)
Original Photo without Chickpeas
African Pineapple Peanut Stew
Ingredients
- 1-2 bunches kale or 4-8 cups sliced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced or pressed
- 1 20-ounce can undrained canned crushed pineapple in juice or about 2 cups with juice
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas optional, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup peanut butter or 1/3 cup peanut butter powder and 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce --I actually use about 3 tablespoons of a favorite Louisiana hot sauce that isn’t as spicy as Tabasco
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley optional
- salt to taste
- crushed skinless peanuts optional
- chopped scallions optional
Instructions
- Prepare the kale by washing it and removing the large center stem from each leaf. Stack the leaves on a cutting board and slice them into one-inch thick slices.
- In a large, covered wok or Dutch oven (non-stick preferred), sauté the onions for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic, and stir for another minute.
- Add the pineapple and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer. Stir in the kale and the chickpeas if you’re using them, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just tender. Mix in the peanut butter, Tabasco, and parsley and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste, and serve topped with crushed peanuts and scallions, over rice or other grain. (This makes about 4 servings without chickpeas or 6 servings with.)
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Susan G
Thank you for posting the points – so helpful!
Jacqueline Serrato
I add sweet potatoes. I skip the peanuts, scallions, and parsley and add lots of chickpeas (I cook my own) and kale. Add 2-3 chopped jalapeño while sautéing the onions and garlic. Oh indeed I add a lot of garlic and tons of Louisiana Hot Sauce. Make it your own…experiment! One of my all time favorite recipes!
Corrin Radd
Woah. I make a lot of your recipes and this is the best one. My family went crazy for it. Thanks!
Linda
Susan, this recipe sounds great! I have some fresh pineapple that I need to use before it gets any older. How do you think that would work in this dish?
Susan Voisin
I’m not sure. You could try chopping it finely in a food processor, but make sure that you get plenty of the juice. The juice is really the only liquid, so if there’s not enough it’ll be dry.
Marian Gleason
THANK YOU for redoing this recipe using the peanut butter powder! I am making this PRONTO!!
Roberta Joiner
This is a favorite in our house! I use 2 bunches of curly red or green kale and 2 cans of chickpeas. Even with those extras, it’s only 4 hearty servings for our crew. I served it last on the Trader Joe’s Brown Rice medley which was perfect for the 4 servings. It’s a winner!
Justin
I just made this tonight with a different presentation style. On a plate I laid a bed of quinoa, topped with the sauteed veges and garbanzos, drizzled w the peanut sauce, topped with crushed peanuts and sprouts. It was a hit! The taste was so unexpected but the display got great comments. Thank you for the recipe. I would’ve never thought of a dish like this. 🙂🥖
Luke
I will come back and rate this after making it.
I have just completed going through all 98 pages of your recipes and saving a large number of them to try. And here, right at the end, I find a recipe that I have been hoping to find for the past 4 years after developing GERD – an African peanut stew that doesn’t use tomatoes! I used to make a similar stew with crushed tomatoes and I absolutely loved it. I am looking forward to trying this one very soon! I will probably add sweet potatoes as another commenter mentioned because that was in the other recipe that I used.
VegMilWife
Have loved this recipe for many years. Glad to have found it online after giving my mom my Moosewood cookbook. Love your addition of chickpeas. Made it once without the cilantro and it just wasn’t the same. Sorry you can’t enjoy it with it.