West African Chicken Stew

This dish, typical of West Africa, is traditionally accompanied by foo-foo, a porridge-like side dish made from corn, sweet potato, plantain, or cassava meal. Serve the stew with rice to sop up the delicious sauce.
Active time: 45 min. Start to finish" 1 ¾ hours
1 3 lb chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces or 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp salt
1 (14 to 15 oz) can whole tomatoes in juice
¼ cup water
2 T tomato paste
¼ cup oil
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic, minced and mashed to a paste with 1 tsp salt
1 ¼ tsp cayenne
½ cup smooth peanut butter
1 ¾ cups chicken broth ( 14 fl oz)
1 (10 oz) box frozen WHOLE okra
1 lb sweet potato
Place chicken in a single layer and salt; let stand at room temperature for 30 min.
Pulse tomatoes with their juice in a food processor until finely chopped.
Stir water into tomato paste in a small bowl.
Pat chicken dry. Heat oil in a 10 to 12 inch skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken, without crowding, in 3 or 4 batches, until golden, 6 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a 6 to 7 quart heavy pot. Pour off all but 2 T fat from skillet, then add onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring until edges are golden, 2 to 3 minutes, Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic paste, and cayenne to chicken in pot. Whisk together peanut butter and 1 cup broth until smooth. Add to chicken along with remaining broth ( chicken will not be covered completely with liquid). Bring to a boil, uncovered, then cover and simmer , STIRRING OCCASIONALLY TO PREVENT STICKING, until chicken is very tender, about 25 minutes.
Peel sweet potato and cut into 1 inch chunks. Stir into stew along with okra, then simmer, covered, until potato is tender but not falling apart, 10 – 12 minutes.

Cook’s notes:
Chicken stew, without sweet potato and okra, can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, covered, then refrigerated. Reheat and proceed with recipe.
The recipe is readily doubled.
From GOURMET 10/05

Four year olds love this and grownups swoon. The peanut butter sounds gross, but it is absolutely what makes the recipe taste rich and luscious.