Happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully you spent this weekend doing what we did: spending time with friends and family, consuming copious amounts of food and alcoholic beverages and relaxing a bit.
If you have ever found yourself wandering why we eat turkey on Thanksgiving or are just looking for a giggle, listen to this podcast sometime this week. It had me laughing and considering spaghetti carbonara or spaghetti and meatballs for future Thanksgiving dinners.
I’m ready for something healthy to offset that second piece of pie so I leave you with this recipe for sweet potato and harissa stew. I know you’ll appreciate a filling, comforting bowl of spiced sweet potatoes and greens along with a little nut butter for some vegan protein! I prefer to use almond butter but peanut butter would be more traditional and work equally well. Harissa is a red pepper paste that can be found in the International section of the grocery store. It can be spicy, but also comes in mild versions, and it a great flavor booster.
Sweet Potato and Harissa Stew
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Nicola
Recipe type: Soups and Stews
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
- couple glugs of olive oil or 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 yellow or red onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped ginger
- ¼ cup mild harissa (see Note)
- 2 lbs sweet potato, 1-2 inch cubes
- 4 cups water
- ½ cup peanut or almond butter
- 1 bunch collard greens, stems removed and sliced into ribbons
- salt to taste
- Optional: brown rice and peanuts to garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or large pot. Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant and onion softened.
- Add mild harissa to the pan (or tomato paste and spicy harissa) and cook, stirring into onion mixture, until it begins to darken and caramelize. Add sweet potatoes and water and bring to a simmer.
- Cook 15-20 minutes or until sweet potatoes can be easily stabbed with a fork. Carefully pour or use a ladle to transfer stew to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Return to pot and stir in peanut or almond butter and collard greens. Cook 5-10 minutes until collard greens have softened, adding water as required to thin to desired consistency. Add salt (I used ~1/2 teaspoon, but will depend on salt level in nut butter and harissa) to taste.
- Serve over brown rice if desired and garnish with peanuts and hot sauce.
Notes
Special Equipment Needed: Blender
Harissa is available in both mild and spicy versions. If using a spicy harissa substitute half tomato paste to temper the heat as it could otherwise be very spicy, even for those who like heat.
Harissa is available in both mild and spicy versions. If using a spicy harissa substitute half tomato paste to temper the heat as it could otherwise be very spicy, even for those who like heat.
