Photo by Julie O’Malley
Chicken with Ground Nut Stew
olive oil
8 chicken thighs (cutlets) on the bone
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tsp good quality curry powder (or to taste)
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1-2 tsp sambel oelek (or any other chilli paste)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
2-3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh organic peanut butter (from any health food store)
Heat a thin layer of oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and cook the chicken, until browned. Remove.
Add a little fresh oil, if needed, and gently saute the onion and garlic until tender, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot as you do so.
Then add the bay leaves, curry powder, thyme, sambel, salt and pepper. Briefly cook to toast the spices.
Add the tomatoes and about 2 cups stock. Stir well, bring to the boil and turn the heat right down.
Then return the chicken thighs (skin side up) and gently cook for about 30-50 mins, turning regularly and adding more stock if needed. The target is to get a nice thickish sauce, not too runny.
When the chicken is cooked through and the sauce suitably reduced, remove the chicken and thyme. Add the peanut butter and briefly cook, regularly stirring. Taste for seasoning.
Serve with a garnish of fresh thyme sprigs on top and steamed rice on the side.