African Bean Soup
3 tablespoon margarine or soy spread
2 cups carrots thinly sliced
12 cups boiling water
1 cup black eye peas dry
1 cup navy beans dry
1 cup green pepper diced
3 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup salted peanuts chopped
2 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon basil leaves crushed
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
(1) Melt margarine in large stock pot. Add carrots. Cook for 5 minutes.
(2) Add water, black eyed peas, navy beans, green pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper (add more water, if necessary, to cover).
(3) Cook, covered, until ingredients are tender, 1 1/2-2 hours.
(4) Add peanuts, onion powder, basil, and coriander during last 10-15 minutes of cooking.
(5) Taste to correct seasonings. Soup should be thick.
NOTES: If you want more of a peanut flavor, add peanut butter (any kind) to taste during step 4. I use about 1/2 of a cup.
RATING: Difficulty: easy. Time: 15 minutes preparation, 2 hours cooking. Precision: no need to measure.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I tried this recipe a few weeks ago (threw everything into my crock pot at one time - much easier), and loved it. I decided to make it for an office party, and it was a success! Everyone raved about it and asked for the recipe. Thanks to the other comments, I was careful about the amount of salt, but this is one of my new favorites (especially love that it includes beans to increase protein, unlike other similar recipes which just rely on the peanut butter)! Thank you so much for sharing!