Peanut-Butternut Squash Stew

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Recipe by: EVG Uploaded by Drimble Wedge

A couple years back I stopped in at the Great Dane pub in Madison, and on whim tried their African-style butternut squash stew with peanut butter, called the Inner Warmth Peanut Stew.

It was so astonishingly delicious (especially because I never really enjoyed squash in the past) that I had to look for a recipe online to try a similar dish at home.

To my surprise and glee, the actual recipe had been shared by the chef of the restaurant! And that's what I'm sharing with you today.

http://www.jsonline.com/features/food/29241964.html

The Great Dane Inner Warmth Peanut Stew

Start by gathering your ingredients:

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • ½ cup minced garlic
  • ½ cup minced ginger
  • ½ tablespoon black pepper
  • 2 to 3 pounds winter squash (butternut or acorn), peeled, cubed
  • 1 quart tomato juice
  • 1 can (20 ounces) diced tomatoes
  • ½ tablespoon salt
  • 1 medium bunch cilantro, stems removed, chopped
  • 1 cup plain peanut butter
  • cooked white rice

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Not pictured is the rice - it calls for white in the recipe, but I've found that it's REALLY good with brown rice. The toothsomeness really lends something to the dish.

Here I used the mini-chopper for my immersion blender to do the work of mincing the garlic and ginger after peeling/husking it all. There's a lot of it.

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Then, chop up the onion. This I used a knife for because I didn't want it to be pulverized.

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Peel, core, and chop your squash.

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In large sauté pan, heat olive oil. Add onions, garlic, ginger, pepper and squash.

I added a generous sprinkle of red pepper flakes - not in the recipe but gave it a nice little kick.

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Cook until ingredients start to soften, about 10 minutes.

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Add tomato juice, tomatoes and salt.

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Simmer until squash is tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 5 minutes.

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Now you'll want to chop up the cilantro, because if it sits around chopped it starts getting gross and wilty.

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Add cilantro, then peanut butter and mix well.

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Bloop.

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Mix in, and your stew should now be a gorgeous orangey color.

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Take the scraper covered in peanut butter, and use it to entice your dog to do tricks.

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Good boy!

Simmer the stew until thickened, about 10 minutes. It should be the consistency of a thick stew.

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At this point I use the immersion blender to give it a nice, smooth consistency.

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Meanwhile you should have been making some rice in your rice cooker (or in a pot, I guess, if you hate delicious, perfectly cooked rice). Fluff that up and leave on warm if it's finished early.

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For each serving, put a small portion of rice in a large soup bowl, then add stew.

The recipe claims that it makes 4 main dish servings, however this is a lie. It makes a HUGE, restaurant-sized vat of stew and easily a week's worth of dinners (and a couple lunches as well!)

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Enjoy for many nights to come!