Peanut stews are common throughout West Africa, where peanuts are a staple. I've cooked them before, most recently when making my Beninoise menu. I was a little bit doubtful about this dish, given that it only called for a few ingredients and was amazingly easy to prepare. But it was surprisingly tasty, if very rich. I omitted the vegetables when I made it because neither of us likes cabbage and Mike doesn't like eggplants. However, that was a mistake as the stew needed something lighter to balance the sauce. Don't omit them when you make it.

The original recipe calls for making couscous the traditional way. Most of the couscous sold in the US, however, is instant (yes, even that sold in bulk) and to cook it all you need to do is boil water (1 cup of water per cup of couscous), add the couscous, turn off the heat, let sit covered for 5 minutes and then fluff it with a fork (adding more water if necessary).

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Munyu Café couscous

Ingredients

• 2 lbs chicken
• 1 lb peanut butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups canned crush tomatoes in puree
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cabbage (optional)
• 2 small eggplants (optional)
• salt to taste
• 1 lb couscous

Put a large casserole or 'marmite' with 5 litres of water on the fire and boil. Place couscous in a fine metal sieve and rinse several times. Place couscous over the boiling water and steam until cooked. Meanwhile heat oil in another large casserole and brown the meat. Add chopped onions, the crushed tomatoes and the tomato puree. Add a little water and the peanut butter and stir. Add more water and the cabbage and aubergines with a little salt and cook for one hour.

Instructions

Heat oil in a large pot. Brown the chicken. Add the onion and tomatoes. Add the peanut butter and a little water and stir. If using the vegetables, add them. Add salt and cook for an hour.

Meanwhile prepare the couscous according to package instructions.

Adapted from a recipe at Uncle Phaedrus, finder of lost recipes