Day 27: African Pepper, Tomato & Spinach ♥

African Pepper, Tomato & Spinach Stew, just 5 ingredients, 15 minutes and 4 Weight Watchers points. Vegan too!
graphic button small size size 10 Today's vegetable quick 'n' easy supper recipe: A quick skillet from pantry ingredients, just five ingredients, not counting the water, salt and pepper, that is. Surprisingly tasty for something so simple. Just 4 PointsPlus for Weight Watchers. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real". It’s a great defense to the onslaught of Easter and Passover sweets that will be tempting us over the next few weeks. Gird thyself!

~recipe & photo updated 2006 & 2014, & reposted 2014~
~more recently updated recipes~

2005 ORIGINAL POST Yum! A definite keeper! The start is pretty typical, just sautéed onion and bell pepper. The tomato and spinach are added later, then comes the secret ingredient, peanut butter! It adds flavor, texture and protein – though skip the boring details and tell the kids only that it tastes good. Will kids love this? Maybe? New lesson: Sauté vegetables in water or chicken broth, not fat, especially if there's fat (in this case, the rich peanut butter) to be added later.

2014 UPDATE This has become a lunch-time staple for me, especially since I look for plant-based protein in my vegetable recipes. The peanut butter melts into a creamy sauce that is sooo good with tomato and spinach. Who knew?!

COMPLIMENTS!
"... delicious... so quick and easy even my husband could make it." ~ bookworks

RECIPE for AFRICAN PEPPER, TOMATO & SPINACH STEW

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Serves 4

2 tablespoons water
1 onion, half diced small, the other half cut in large pieces
1 green pepper, chopped in large pieces
15 ounces canned diced tomato
8 ounces fresh spinach, stems removed if large and tough
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
Generous salt & pepper to taste

Heat a large non-stick skillet with a cover on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the water, onion and green pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and just beginning to brown. (The onions and pepper will only soften, not brown, since there's no oil.) Stir in tomato, then the spinach (in batches if necessary) on top of onion/pepper/tomato mixture. Cover, reduce heat to MEDIUM and let cook until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and let continue to cook until liquid cooks off. Stir in peanut butter and let melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
2006 & 2014: My peanut butter preference here is for a commercial chunky peanut butter versus a natural (unsweetened, unsalted) smooth peanut butter.
2006 & 2014: Green pepper (vs the oft-used red) really works in this dish. And they're much cheaper!
2006: If you left the liquid, this would make a great vegetarian supper atop pasta, rice or maybe especially, beans.
This was the best new vegetable recipe during the first month of A Veggie Venture's first year! Here's the now-long list of each month's favorite recipes, favorite vegetable recipes!



A Veggie Venture - Printer Friendly Recipe Graphic



Still Hungry?


MORE RECIPES FOR HEALTHY VEGETARIAN SUPPERS
~ Broccoli & Tomato Thai Curry ~
~ Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes ~
~ Chickpeas with Tomatoes, Spinach & Feta ~
~ more vegetarian supper recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Mediterranean Eggplant ~
~ Squash & Carrot Stew ~
~ Broccoli Rigatoni with Chickenpeas & Lemon ~
~ more vegetarian main-dish recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

A Veggie Venture is home of 'veggie evangelist' Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2005, 2006 & 2014


Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. This is delicious dish served over pasta and so quick and easy even my husband could make it.

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  2. I can't wait to try this, it sounds really good! I will not use low-fat peanut butter however as the additives far outweigh the calorie/fat savings (IMHO).

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  3. Tracey ~ Good catch, thank you! I switched to full-fat peanut butter a few years back for exactly that same reason and actually re-did the nutrition calculations with full-fat but then didn’t go back to change the ingredient list. Off to fix that now! So glad you wrote, thank you …

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  4. This sounds very good - looking forward to trying it.

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  5. CabledSheep ~ Love the name, lady! Thanks for stopping back …

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  6. AnonymousJune 03, 2014

    So glad I found this recipe! I now double it for 2-3 people and it is gone in no time. There is something very addictive about this meal. I have served in on top of gluten free fettucini, rotini pasta and red pepper flavored rice. Delicious, all of them. I actually get cravings for this dinner. And it's great fun to have people try to guess the secret ingredient. Only my 12 year-old grandson got it.

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  7. Anonymous ~ Here’s to good tastebuds in a twelve-year old! Thanks for letting me know, so glad you like this, me too!

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna