"I want to try something ethnic, but I don't want to invest in all the spices!"
Have no fear my cautious foodie. Now you can dip your toe into ethnic cuisine, without spending a lot of money on spices you may not ever use again with this African Peanut Chicken with Chickpeas recipe. The peanuts and coconut milk give the chicken a rich flavor, and other than fish sauce (which you will not want to leave out!), you won't have to buy a single spice.
Of course once you dip your toe in and you're ready to move on, I've got plenty of recipes for you to try. So give this one a shot, and then come on back for more. I promise to give you enough recipes to use up any spices I recommend buying on this site.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tsp Olive Oil, Divided
- 2 Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Small Bite-Sized Pieces
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 Large Sweet Onion, Chopped
- 2 Large Carrots, Peeled and Cut Into Bit-Sized Pieces
- 4 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
- 1 28 Oz Can Plum Tomatoes, Diced (or 3 1/2 Cups Fresh)
- 6 Tbs Finely Ground Dry-Roasted Unsalted Peanuts (and a little extra for topping the final dish)
- 1 Cup Chicken Broth
- 1 Can Chickpeas
- 1 Can Coconut Milk (Can use lowfat if preferred)
- 1 Tbs Fish Sauce (Do not leave this out, as weird as it sounds.)
- Box of Couscous (optional)
Directions:
- In a large deep skillet, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil on medium.
- Add chicken and salt and pepper to taste, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until just partially cooked. Make sure you're stirring the chicken occasionally to cook it evenly.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside in a bowl.
- Add 1 more teaspoon of oil to the pan (keeping the heat on medium), and add the onion and carrots. Cook about 8 minutes, or until onions are soft, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the garlic and tomatoes, and once bubbling, reduce the heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the mixture is thick. (Note on the tomatoes: If using whole peeled tomatoes, you can either cut the tomatoes beforehand and then add with the can's sauce, or else just put them in whole and break them up in the pan with a spoon.)
- If you haven't already, put peanuts into a food processor (I love my mini food processor for this kind of thing) until finely ground. Add 6 tablespoons to the tomato mixture.
- Stir in the broth, coconut milk, and chickpeas.
- Increase the heat to medium, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken, and cook 2 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve alone like a stew, or my preferred way, over couscous, and top with some remaining peanuts.
