Peanut Stew with Spinach and Miso

Super Natural Simple by Heidi Swanson

This is a substantial, creamy peanut stew with plenty of spice from a good dollop of curry paste. Use your favorite brand of curry, a homemade paste, or even the ubiquitous Thai Kitchen brand. Canned crushed tomatoes are easy to find (and good here!), but this soup gains extra depth of flavor with canned fire-roasted tomatoes. I thought about making the miso optional, because, really, it is. But it’s a nice addition, lending extra body, flavor, and dimension.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, chopped

• 3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, plus more to taste

• 1 1/2 cups diced carrots

• 3 tablespoons red curry paste

• 1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter

• 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes or crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

• 4 cups water

• 8 ounces frozen spinach, chopped

• 2 tablespoons miso

• 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges, to serve

• Chopped cilantro, cooked brown rice, or toasted peanuts, to serve (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pot over  medium heat. Stir in the onion and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and curry paste and cook for another minute, until fragrant. Stir in the peanut butter, tomatoes, and water and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Stir in the spinach, bring the stew back to a simmer, then remove the pot from the heat.

Stir in the miso, taste the stew, and add more salt as needed.

Ladle the stew into bowls and serve each with a wedge of lime and any or all of the suggested toppings.

Reprinted with permission from Super Natural Simple. Copyright © 2021 by Heidi Swanson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.