Eggplant & peanut stew with pink onions

January 16, 2023

 

   

We scored a handful of bonus eggplants from a pal and immediately went trawling through the Anna Jones book for ideas. This eggplant and peanut stew immediately appealed, especially because she recommended eating it with flat bread and we had a freezer full of roti raring to go. I'm not sure we entirely nailed it - I couldn't find properly raw red-skinned peanuts at Barkly Square, so we used blanched peanuts instead, and my knife work left our pickled pick onion a bit thick and crunchy on top. Things still worked out pretty well - the stew is rich and peanutty, with a bit of warmth from the chilli and some smokiness from the charred eggplant and paprika. It can be put together on a school night if you're organised, and you'll get lunches for the next few work days. It's definitely another excellent stew for our rotation.

Eggplant & peanut stew with pink onions

(based on a recipe in Anna Jones' One Pot, Pan, Planet)

250g blanched peanuts (get raw, red-skinned ones if you can!)

4 medium eggplants, chopped

4 tablespoons peanut oil

3 brown onions, peeled and thinly sliced

1.5 teaspoons ground coriander

1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon chilli powder

3 bay leaves

small bunch of coriander, stems chopped, leaves left whole

8-10 tomatoes, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1 red chilli, finely chopped

750ml veggie stock

4-5 tablespoons peanut butter

for the pink onions

1 red onion, sliced finely

1 tablespoon caster sugar

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Soak the peanuts in 750ml of boiling water and set aside.

Combine the pink onion ingredients in a bowl, with a few of the coriander leaves and stir together - leave them to pickle until dinner is ready. 

Put a large saucepan on very high heat and dry-fry the eggplant pieces, turning them regularly until they're really charred up on all sides. We did ours in a couple of batches and it took about 8 minutes per batch to get them really brown.

Pop all the fried eggplant into the saucepan and add the peanut oil, frying everything for 5 minutes or so. Throw in the sliced brown onions and lower the heat a bit, cooking for 10 minutes until they're nice and soft.

Add the spices, coriander stalks and bay leaves, along with the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste - fry for a few minutes stirring so that nothing sticks. 

Add the vegetable stock and the finely chopped chilli, then drain the peanuts and throw them in too. Simmer for 10-15 minutes while the sauce thickens up.

Stir through the peanut butter until it combines well. Add in the liquid from the pickling pink onions and then adjust with water and salt until you've got the texture and seasoning right. 

Serve on flat bread or rice, topped with pink onions and coriander leaves.