Inspiration to cook can come from near, far, or simply your pantry. Not far from where I live, there is a thriving neighborhood with many African immigrants. They come from different countries like Senegal, Mauritania, and Mali, to name a few. I noticed that on some of the restaurant menus, they have a stew made with peanut butter, herbs, meats, and vegetables, root vegetables in particular.
Such a stew sounded like a great idea, and I decided to make a sweet potato-based vegan stew of my own with harissa sauce and almond butter providing the flavoring. Harissa is a hot chile sauce made from crushed chilies, tomatoes and paprika, and herbs like coriander and caraway. So you see, I took a distinctly West African dish, put a North African spin on it (harissa is a common ingredient in the cuisines of North Africa), and used my American peanut-butter alternative to come up with something unique, healthy, and fun.
I served this stew with brown rice and a side of collard greens. It was a meal that was hearty without being heavy, and quite tasty.
Spicy North African Sweet Potato Stew
1-2 teaspoons neutral cooking oil of choice (I used coconut oil)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
4 grated garlic cloves
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth or stock
2/3 Cup almond butter
4 medium sweet potatoes in large chunks (peeling optional; scrub thoroughly if leaving peels on)
1 medium potato, diced (peeling optional; scrub thoroughly if leaving peels on)
2 Tablespoons Harissa paste (Don’t have? See Note below this recipe to make your own)
1 Tablespoon turmeric
2 teaspoons fenugreek
Pinch each of cinnamon and allspice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can black beans, drained
Optional: garnish with herbs of choice. Some good options: cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, watercress.
Directions
1. In a small skillet or saucepan, gently warm coconut oil over a medium flame. Once oil is shimmery, add in onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Lower heat to low, then add in ginger and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes more. Turn off heat and remove pan from heat.
2. Place all ingredients except for black beans and herb garnish into the slow cooker. Stir thoroughly, making sure to break up any lumps in almond butter and harissa paste.
3. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8 hours. Adjust seasoning to taste. Stir in black beans, and garnish with herbs, if using.
NOTE: If you don’t have harissa paste/sauce, whip up a simple version by blending one jarred bell red bell pepper (rinsed) and/or a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste with one tablespoon of paprika, a few chili flakes, and a few herbs. Toss in a pinch of whatever you have of the following: ground cumin, coriander, caraway, allspice, nutmeg, and blend.
I am salivating! Can’t wait to try it!
where does one find almond butter and is it really essential in this recipe?
Glad you’re planning to try it. 🙂 I’d say you can easily use peanut butter instead of almond butter. I do think some sort of nut butter is key to this recipe.
Lots of regular grocery stores are carrying almond butter now. You can make your own, too, but it’s a bit of a process. Here’s one method:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/gist96.html
Te sweet potato stew looks great and healthy as usual. I love, love, love harissa. I’m glad you’ve included a recipe on how to make it. I usually just buy it. The stew looks especially good for these last days on winter!
sorry for my typos….”the sweet potato” and “last days of winter”…. lol
Nadia, do you hear that siren? Well, it’s wailing because I just sent the Grammar Police after you 😉
I kid, I kid!
Thanks for your lovely comment. I’m planning to do a more extensive post on harissa eventually. Btw, what brand of jarred harissa do you prefer?
hehe…The grammar police will probably give me a life sentence with all the typos/mistakes I make. 😉
Looking forward to your Harissa post!
The brand I use is actually in a tube(don’t judge 😉 ). It’s Tucal, from Tunisia…very good and very spicy!
If the Grammar Police come after you, you’ll find me already in the squad car, arrested for all my goofy typos. We’ll end up in the clink together for sure! LOL! 😉
No way would I judge that you dig a store-bought brand. It’s all good. 🙂 We have to have those shortcuts handy for action! Plus I’m sure the fine people at Tucal put a lot of love and care and research into their recipe. I’ll keep an eye out for Tucal next time I’m out and about looking for that sort of thing.
Yum! This is exactly the kind of food I like!
I sometimes make my own harissa, using a Claudia Roden or Moro recipe.
Belazu brand is lovely. With rose petals! I must admit that was the reason why I bought it for the first time.
Good to know. I’ll look for that brand and which recipes you use. I’ll investigate all options soon 🙂
So I just made this last night along with your Persian Infusion Iced tea, and it came out SO Delicious!! I could not wait to make this after I bought my ingredients! Thank you so much for sharing such wonderful recipes 🙂
Fabulous! I’m so glad you like the recipes and enjoyed them 🙂
[…] Looking for a more immediate use of harissa? It’s a key part of another my North African-influenced sweet potato stew. […]
I know this is a late reply, but I found this recipe today whilst looking for something interesting to do with the 3 sweet potatoes loitering on my counter.
Do you think tahini would work in place of the almond butter? I do have whole almonds I could grind, but I also have a jar of tahini that needs to be used.
Recipe sounds fab and looking forward to trying tonight. 🙂
Go for it. I think tahini will work, though it’s not quite as thick. Please report back 🙂
So I made this with 3 modifications. First I tried the tahini and it worked very well, although next time I will only use 1/3 cup as it was extremely rich. I also subbed chickpeas for black beans as I didn’t realise I was out. It was fine, but the black beans would have given better colour. Lastly, I didn’t have time for the crockpot so I just did it on the stovetop. My partner loved the spicy flavour and I love having another vegan choice for my beloved sweet potatoes. All in all, a recipe I will def use again. For anyone reading in the UK, I found harissa paste at Asda. Thanks for a great recipe Bria. 🙂
Excellent modifications! Glad it all turned out nicely; thanks for the update.
I made the stew today , and although it was a hot day here in the Netherlands, we enjoyed it. I posted the recipe on my blog, hope that’s ok with you.
http://moniqueskeukentje.blogspot.com/2012/05/pittige-noord-afrikaanse-zoete.html
Glad it was a hit. Thanks for blogging about it 🙂