Hearty African Quinoa Stew

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• ½ cup quinoa
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• ½ cup peanut butter

Directions

Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Toss in the onion, sweet potato, red bell pepper, celery, zucchini, jalapeño, and garlic, and cook everything together, stirring occasionally, until the veggies have softened—this usually takes about 10 minutes. Next, pour in the vegetable stock along with the quinoa, cumin, oregano, salt, black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then lower the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer gently until the quinoa is tender, which should take around 10 to 15 minutes. Once the quinoa is cooked, stir in the peanut butter and let the stew simmer a bit longer, about 20 minutes, so all the flavors can come together beautifully. Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to, then it’s ready to serve.