Nkatenkwan — Ghanaian Groundnut Soup with Chicken

⏱ 80 min · Serves 4

A rich, glossy peanut butter stew from Ghana, simmered slowly with chicken, tomatoes, ginger and a whisper of scotch bonnet heat. Deeply savoury and comforting — serve with rice balls, fufu or plain steamed rice.

Per serving: 798 kcal · 56.0g protein · 21.0g carbs · 56.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1 kg bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin on
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 1 large onion, half roughly chopped, half thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 thumb (25 g) fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 scotch bonnet chilli (whole, or deseeded for less heat)
• 250 g smooth natural peanut butter (unsweetened)
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1.2 litres chicken stock or water
• 1 tsp ground dried chilli or cayenne (optional)
• 1 small aubergine or 100 g garden eggs, quartered (optional, traditional)
• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• 1 bay leaf or a small piece of dried fish (optional, for depth)
• Steamed rice, fufu or rice balls, to serve
• Handful chopped coriander, to finish

Method

1. Blitz the roughly chopped onion half, garlic, ginger and half the scotch bonnet with a splash of water into a smooth paste.
2. Season the chicken with salt and half the blended paste. Leave 15 minutes while you prep everything else.
3. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken pieces well on all sides, 8–10 minutes. Remove to a plate.
4. Add the sliced onion to the pot and soften 4 minutes, then stir in the remaining blended paste and the tomato purée and fry 3 minutes until fragrant.
5. Add the tinned tomatoes and cook down 8–10 minutes until thick, darkened and the oil separates.
6. In a bowl, whisk the peanut butter with 400 ml of the warm stock until smooth and lump-free, then pour into the pot along with the rest of the stock. Stir well.
7. Return the chicken, add the bay leaf (or dried fish) and the remaining whole scotch bonnet. Bring to a gentle simmer, half-covered.
8. Simmer 40–45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so it doesn't catch, adding the aubergine for the last 20 minutes. The soup is ready when a slick of reddish groundnut oil rises to the surface.
9. Skim off excess oil if you like, remove the whole chilli, and season with salt and cayenne. Scatter with coriander and serve hot with rice, rice balls or fufu.