HIP, YET HIDDEN.

West African Peanut Stew. In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, I often ate it served over rice but this is a delicious stew version.

* 1 spray(s) cooking spray
* 2 medium onion(s), roughly chopped
* 1 medium green pepper(s), cored and roughly chopped
* 1/2 pound(s) sweet potato(es), peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
* 2 medium carrot(s), peeled and thinly sliced
* 2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
* 2 Tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced
* 1/2 tsp ground cloves
* 1/2 tsp table salt
* 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
* 4 cup(s) vegetable broth, reduced-sodium
* 6 Tbsp peanut butter, natural, creamy variety
* 8 cup(s) spinach, leaves, stemmed, packed, chopped

Instructions

* Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.

* Stir in the sweet potato, carrots and garlic; cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Add the ginger, cloves, salt and cayenne; cook for 30 seconds.

* Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth.

* Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer slowly, stirring once in a while, until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

* Add the spinach; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Yields about 1 2/3 cups per serving.

Notes:

Keep the heat low as the soup simmers so the peanut butter doesn't break (that is, in culinary terms, "doesn't fall out of suspension" or separate).
*Thanks to Weight Watchers