Spicy, Hot African Chicken With Spinach

"For years I had been trying to replicate a dish that was prepared for me by an African family. Finally, during a random sales call, an African telemarketer was gracious enough to help me piece together the missing ingredients. This is a hot, spicy, thick stew that is completely addictive. It contains chicken, peanut butter, and spinach. There are some other variations of the African stew out there, but none compare to this. The secret to the stew is both peanut butter and spinach together. That is how the sauce gets its deep color. The peanut butter oil and spice combine to make sauce unbelievably thick and savory."
 
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Ready In:
1hr 15mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Rinse off chicken and cut off extra fat. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
  • Peel garlic cloves (4-6).
  • Wash and dry spinach.
  • Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot. Keep heat low so oil does not smoke.
  • Add garlic to oil in pan and heat until brown, remove with spoon and set aside (be careful)
  • Add chicken to pan and turn heat to medium.
  • Put a good sear on the chicken until it is browned.
  • Add half water to pan and deglaze. This will get the chicken flavor off the bottom of the pan.
  • Add bouillon and pepper to water and bring to a boil. You now have your chicken simmering in a broth.
  • Reduce pan liquid by half. Cook until chicken is falling off the bone.
  • Add peanut butter, browned garlic, and paprika.
  • Add spinach and stir until all ingredient have integrated (10 minutes at least).
  • Watch it close so it doesn’t burn.
  • The stew should be thick when you remove it. If its runny then let it simmer until it thickens.

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Reviews

  1. Snap! Two reviews on the same day! Okay, I made this for Sunday lunch yesterday, for guests. I actually made it on Saturday and let it sit in the fridge overnight. I made it Exactly as directed, and DH said on Saturday, maybe it was a little salty (I normally cook with no salt, or next to none). On Sunday I put it into a casserole dish, added about another half cup of water and warmed it slowly in the oven as I prepared side dishes. It looked perfect before I did that, the extra water just helped it to still have a thick sauce without drying out. I prepared rice to go with the chicken, a slightly spicy rice, and the whole dish was very well received, the little that was left over (I made a lot of other dishes too!), my DH had for lunch today, he declared it excellent and I will make it again. So from me, in Africa, may I say, very nice, and thanks for sharing!
     
  2. People who completely change a recipe and then review it make me crazy. In my defense, I just tweaked this one to fit my mid-western palate. So, here goes: excellent flavor and mix of spices. Used Penzey's Maharaja curry (cut to one tablespoon) and one teaspoon black and cayenne peppers. Instead of water and boullion, used four cups chicken stock. Added cornstarch to some of the stock, to thicken. Next time, will add chunks of onion and sweet potato. Husband added more cayenne and curry at the table; he is more highly evolved than I am. Used organic peanut butter (no additives) so threw in a scant teaspoon of sugar to compensate. Reduced the butter/oil amounts, also. I really didn't totally re-do the recipe, but am leaving all these notes because I will certainly make this again. Thanks for your research in recreating a dish you enjoyed so much, and also for sharing it.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I am a software developer and graphic designer from Pennsylvania. Cooking has been my passion since I was a kid. I love comfort food, which for me means thick, savory stews. Most of the recipes I post will be one-pot meals... capturing all the flavors in the sauce. Feel free to visit my blog for a few more good recipes. Just be warned they are loaded with tons of garlic, so they are not for the faint of heart.
 
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