African quinoa stew

[Delightful Den]

I had a version of this made in a slow cooker. I went looking for the recipe tonight to see if I could make this in the Thermomix but must have thrown it out when I was cleaning out my recipe book cupboard. I quick search of the internet found another recipe that I used as the basis for this one. I made this on the fly jotting everything as I went. My my DW liked it so it may need more chili and herbs for people with a more sophisticated pallet. For a more African flavour try swapping the zucchini for okra.

African Quinoa Stew
1 clove garlic peeled
1/2 onion peeled and halved
1 stick celery
1 carrot
1/2 hot chili
15gms EVOO
100 gms Sweet potato diced
1/2 cup quinoa rinsed and drained
1 400gm tin red kidney beans
1 tin diced tomatoes
100 gms peanut butter (made in Thermomix)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin (I used whole seed but ground will work)
2 Tbls vegi stock paste
650 - 700 gms water (enough to fill bowl to just below 2 litre mark)
1 small zucchini diced handful of peanuts

Method:
place garlic, onion, celery, chili and carrot into TM bowl chop speed 6 for 3 seconds. Scrape down, add EVOO and saute speed 1 100degrees 4 minutes.

Add all other ingredients except peanuts and zucchini. Cook reverse speed 1 100 degrees for 15 minutes. Add diced zucchini and peanuts and cook for a further 5 minute reverse speed 1 at 100 degrees.

Serve garnished with a few peanuts and maybe a few slices of chili.

Should serve 4

members' comments

megant - it was really really good. I used butternut pumpkin instead of sweet potato and it was great. I'll definitely be making again although I'd make a few slight adjustments:
I'd make my pumpkin/potato more chunky as I found it just mushed into nothing and I like more chunky stews - but that's just a personal preference. I'd also add another can of kidney beans as it made sooooo much I just think it needs more beany goodness.
I'd use a fraction less water and when cooking leave off the MC so it reduces and thickens a little bit.
I'm also going to try it with cashew paste instead of peanut butter just from a better health aspect. Mine was quite running when I made it, but I just added some corn flour to thicken it up.
But overall a great recipe. We served with crusty flat bread and it was amazing! DH loved it!

KerrynN - We had this with some red quinoa and some (cheap) lamb. I cooked the lamb in two batches with some EVOO on speed 1, reverse, 100 degrees for 7 minutes the first batch then 5 for the second batch and set it aside. I then added the lamb (including the juices in the bottom of the bowl) back in with the rest of the main ingredients. The amount of water was much less, not sure how much exactly but enough to get it up to just under the 2 litre mark as per the original instructions. I increased the cooking time to 20 minutes before the zucchini went in.

This was a delicious meal! The whole family really enjoyed it and I even had DH say that he would enjoy it without the meat or with chicken as well. This will go on our list of quick, easy and delicious dinners.

jkmt - I made this although I didn't have quite enough peanut paste and only had crushed nuts rather than whole peanuts, which actually gave a texture I liked. My husband and I really enjoyed it and thought it was something we could definitely play with and tweak further. The kids weren't so keen, so it probably won't make it onto the regular meal cycle for that reason.

Tasty - I thought I'd give this recipe a go and I have to say that it was really lovely. I'm definitely making this again as it's easy prep, easy clean up and good for you, as well as tasting great! Thanks for posting Dennis!

ElleG - Dashingden this was just lovely. I used a large tin of kidney beans and didn't add as much water. I just poured some in and stirred until it looked 'right' and added chopped roast lamb when I added the zucchini and some almonds. It ended up about half an inch from the top. Thanks for such a tasty recipe. My guest and husband really enjoyed it, and so did I.

Amy - I made this using only 400g water and after leaving it to stand for a while in a casserole dish, I ended up with a lovely, thick consistency. Mum said it was very tasty. Thanks for the recipe Den!

JuliaC83 - This is the best!!! Yummo! I made some minor adjustments as I wanted to use up what I had in the fridge and pantry! I had no peanuts or peanut butter, so I made cashew nut butter with raw cashews and macadamia oil, I used 250g diced pumpkin instead of sweet potato, I increased quinoa to 3/4 cup, I used chickpeas instead of kidney beans and lastly I pan fried 400g diced beef and stirred through at the end. Definitely making again.
 

[RosieB]

Dashingden.  This sounds great,  What type of Qinoa do you use?
I have grains and flakes and most recipes seem to just state 'quinoa'
And it would be lovely with okra.  Yumm

[Delightful Den]

Hey Rosie,

I used whole royal quinoa. Any whole quinoa would work. The only thing that I have ever used flakes for was to make a porridge like cereal by heating them in the microwave with milk, brown sugar and Cinnamon.

[Cuilidh]

If you were using okra, when would you put that in and would you slice it or use it whole.  It's a great many years since I used okra and something at the back of my mind is telling me that you shouldn't cut it - can you clarify this for me.

Many thanks.

[auds]

I would love to try this and try quinoa for the first time.  The only problem is the boss wont eat vegetarian.  Could I put some sort of meat in this?

cheers

[Cuilidh]

You could maybe try it as a side dish, auds, and see how it goes.

[Delightful Den]

I would love to try this and try quinoa for the first time.  The only problem is the boss wont eat vegetarian.  Could I put some sort of meat in this?

cheers

You could certainly add meat to this. I would probably use diced or stewing lamb and you might have to reduce the amount of water to allow for the extra volume from the meat. If you wanted to go really authentic goat would probably be the meat of choice in Africa.

[Delightful Den]

If you were using okra, when would you put that in and would you slice it or use it whole.  It's a great many years since I used okra and something at the back of my mind is telling me that you shouldn't cut it - can you clarify this for me.

Many thanks.

The okra would be added at the end wen you would normally add the zucchini.  It is best to use small okra and not cut it to prevent it from going slimy I have read that if you dry the okra well and keep the knife dry while cutting this will reduce the 'sliminess'.  Supposedly when cooking okra in liquid if the acidity of the liquid is high enough it prevents/reduces the slime production.  I have not personally ever cooked okra (DW doesn't really even like the zucchini) so this is all from reading cooking methods on the internet.

[Lellyj]

Thankyou Dashingden.  I love quinoa and cook for vegetarian teenagers (I would personally prefer the addition of a bit of lamb or goat myself) and am always looking for something different.  I will definitely give this a go.  Thanks again.

[Cuilidh]

The okra would be added at the end wen you would normally add the zucchini.  It is best to use small okra and not cut it to prevent it from going slimy I have read that if you dry the okra well and keep the knife dry while cutting this will reduce the 'sliminess'.  Supposedly when cooking okra in liquid if the acidity of the liquid is high enough it prevents/reduces the slime production.  I have not personally ever cooked okra (DW doesn't really even like the zucchini) so this is all from reading cooking methods on the internet.

Thanks for all that info, Dashingden. 

[megant]

I made this last night and it was really really good. I used butternut pumpkin instead of sweet potato and it was great. I'll definitely be making again although I'd make a few slight adjustments:

I'd make my pumpkin/potato more chunky as I found it just mushed into nothing and I like more chunky stews - but thats just a personal preference. I'd also add another can of kidney beans as it made sooooo much I just think it needs more beany goodness.
I'd use a fraction less water and when cooking leave off the MC so it reduces and thickens a little bit.

I'm also going to try it with cashew paste instead of peanut butter just from a better health aspect.

But overall a great recipe  We served with crusty flat bread and it was amazing! DH loved it!

Thanks Dashingden

[Bonsai]

DashingDen this looks great and I'm putting it on the to do list (as soon as the temperature drops below 38!)

I cook with okra quite a lot (fresh and frozen). It can feel a little slimy when you're slicing fresh okra but isn't slimy to eat when it is in a stew or casserole. The sliminess is often used as a thickener in African and Cajun cooking (in a good way!). Smaller okra are better (the bigger ones can be a little tougher) but it's not always easy to find in shops so grab it while you can. It has tiny hairs on the skin which disappear with cooking but best not to handle them then rub your eyes!!

[megant]

Is there any special hints/tips for buying Okra, or is it pretty much just grab a handful and off ya go? I've never cooked with it before but have always wanted to try it as it's great to have new things to add to the vego diet.

[achookwoman]

DD, looks good will try it as a side.  thanks for posting.

[cookie1]

We were given some okra the other day. Most were too large and tough but the smaller ones were ok. Not a favourite of mine though.