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SPICY PEANUT AND EGGPLANT SOUP

I’m not really a soup person. I usually skip past the soup section in cookbooks. They just don’t interest me. Not sure why, that’s just the ways it is….. until now. Maybe it’s because I have moved to Europe and it’s colder here (2 C° degrees in Autumn – you have got to be kidding me) but I have really started appreciating soup recipes. I don’t just flick past them anymore and I actually say to myself “soup would be nice this week”, madness. This is one of the soups we made recently and is was super yummy. Very rich and filling, completely satisfying with some homemade roti (an art I am getting really good at) on the side. I like the use of peanut butter in almost anything as I think it gives it a rich, luxurious taste and feel, although I don’t eat peanut butter on it’s own. The eggplants are soft and delicious which again add to the richness of this soup. This was a complete winner. Don’t get me wrong, I still look at some soup recipes and think no thanks but this soup has made me look a soups in a whole new light!  Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 450g eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

• 5 large shallots, peeled and sliced thinly

• 1/4 cup peanut oil

• 1 medium sized yellow onion , diced

• 1 hot chile, seeded and minced

• 1 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and minced

• 1.5 tsp ground cumin

• 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne powder (optional – I choose to leave it out as I find cayenne powder a bit harsh)

• 2 tsp ground coriander

• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

• 1/3 cup of tomato paste

• 1 (400g-410g) can crushed tomatoes

• 5 cups vegetable broth or water

• 1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter (I choose chunky as I loved the pieces of peanut through the soup)

• 230g of green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• Fresh cilantro for garnish (Optional garnish – I don’t like Cilantro so I used fresh basil instead)

Directions

1.	Toss the eggplant cubes with a teaspoon of  salt in a colander. Allow this to sit for 30 minutes to soften and then rinse with cold water and pat dry.
2.	In a separate pan cook the shallots in the 2 tbsp of the olive oil for about 20 minutes until hey are soft, brown and caramelized. Take the shallots out of the pan and put them to one side.
3.	Add 1tbsp of the olive oil to the pot and add the eggplant, stirring to make sure it is covered in the oil. Stir and cook for 12-15 minutes, until slightly tender. Add this mixture to the shallots.
4.	Add the remaining olive oil to the pot and allow it to heat slowly. Add ginger and chile and fry for 30 seconds. Add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, and fry for another 30 seconds, then add the onion. Stir and fry until the onions are just slightly soft and translucent, 5-6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and then stir this mixture for another minute.
5.	Add the canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, eggplants, green beans and shallots to the pot. Stir well and bring this mixture to a boil for 5 minutes then lower the heat and just let it simmer.
6.	In a separate bowl or measuring jug stir the peanut butter and then add a ladleful of hot soup. Stir to combine until creamy. Scrape mixture in to the rest of the simmering soup. Simmer the soup over medium-low heat, covered, for about 35 - 35 minutes or until the eggplant is very tender.
7.	Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Salt to taste and let sit for 30 minutes. Serve and top with garnish if desired.

 

 

This recipe is from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero