This recipe calls for a bunch of ingredients, and I found it when I was once searching for a way to use up some vegetables I couldn’t picture using together.   I once again had this conglomeration of vegetables in my fridge and freezer needing to be used up, so it appeared again on our dinner menu!

I’ve never made this recipe exactly as it’s written below – if I don’t have something, I leave it out – but it’s always been tasty.  This is a one pot meal, so once you have the vegetables prepped, it’s a simple meal to put together.  The spices are typical for West African dishes, but you might want to use less if you’re not so adventuresome – it has a number of spices that might be unfamiliar to some palates.

West African Stew

• 1 onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, diced
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 small eggplant, peeled and cubed
• 1 1/2 c. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 each – red, yellow, and green peppers, cut in 1/2″ pieces (I dislike cooked peppers so I leave this out)
• 2 c. okra, sliced
• 4 c. vegetable broth
• 1/2 t. cayenne
• 3/4 t. ginger
• 1/2 t. coriander
• 1/4 t. tumeric
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• 1/4 c. honey (I never put this in)
• 2 – 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1/2 lb green beans
• 3 c. chopped greens (kale, collard, mustard, spinach)
• 4 – 15 oz cans chick peas, drained (or 1 lb dry chickpeas, soaked, sprouted, and cooked- you need to plan a couple of days ahead if you want to sprout them)

Put the onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, and okra into a pot with the vegetable broth.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil. When the vegetables are tender, add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil again, and cook for 5 – 10 minutes until the green beans are tender.

Serve hot over brown rice or with fresh whole wheat bread.

This is an economical dish, assuming you buy the vegetables at a reasonable price.   I’m costing the recipe out as it’s written and estimating according to the quantities listed, though it’s possible dd15 added more of something than I’ve indicated when she prepared it.

• onion – .20
• garlic – .20
• 1 lb sweet potatoes – .33 lb (bought in case of 40 lb)
• 1 sm eggplant – .49 lb (reduced rack)
• 1.5 c. mushrooms – .99 lb on sale (I dehydrated a large amount last time I bought them on sale so I can use them for cooking when it’s convenient for me)
• 2 c. okra – .50 per 16 oz. pkg (I bought a huge amount of these frozen a while back because they were so cheap)
• broth – free if you use veggie trimmings to make your own (can also use water instead of broth thought it won’t be as richly flavored)
• 2 – 28 oz can tomatoes – .79 each (on sale because slightly dented)
• 3 c. greens – free – (didn’t use it this time but in past used what we had in garden)
• 1 lb dried chick peas – .75 lb on sale

Total –  just $5.04 !! – this made a filling dinner for our family with enough left over to have for lunch another day.

(This post is part of Real Food Wednesday and Pennywise Platter Thursday.)

Avivah