Instructions: In a 1 gallon Dutch oven or heavy kettle, saute the onions in the oil until the onions are soft but not brown. Add the stew meat and saute lightly until the meat turns color but does not brown. Add the next six ingredients

(tomato paste-thyme), cover tightly, and simmer over low heat for 1 hour until meat is nearly done. Add the vegetables, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Combine the peanut butter and roughly 1/2 cup of the pan gravy in a bowl, making a smooth cream. Pour this mixture over the meat and vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes longer.

Place 1/2 cup cooked rice in a large soup bowl. Arrange one of each vegetable around edge of bowl. Stir up the stew in the pot and place a ladleful of stew in the center of the bowl.

My variations and recommendations:
First of all, I just call this "West African Stew" if anybody asks. It conveys what the recipe is all about for me. Ive made this recipe with just beef stew meat and with a combination of beef and lamb stew meat. In the combination version, it was easy to tell which was which, in spite of the sauce, because the lamb was so much more tender than the beef. I dont care what the recipe says, Im not adding a tablespoon of salt to ANYTHING I eat. I use less than a teaspoon and serve it with salt at the table. The cabbage wedges may add some fiber and vitamins, but they dont add much to the overall experience of this dish for me, so I just leave them out. The ex-boyfriend suggested peeling and slicing (1/4 inch slices) a yucca root to add to this recipe. It was a delicious substitution for the sweet potato, and tastes delicious raw, too. Also, I can hardly ever find tiny white turnips, so I usually substitute a bag of chopped frozen yellow turnip or rutabaga. If you do use sweet potato, I cant imagine that 8 will fit in your average Dutch oven with all the rest of that stuff, so 4 is probably more than adequate.

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