African Pineapple Peanut Stew with Coconut Rice

Fifty percent of my house is vegetarian but we eat vegetarian 100% of the time.  We have our staples, our go to reciples.  Tried and true.  It's like the fast-food of homecooking; we know what to expect, no surprise.  And we don't really mind.

But a time comes when you need to venture out and find more recipes.  More interesting flavors.

This one isn't exactly palate challenging but the flavors in this recipe are some the favorites we seek out in other dishes (coconut in Thai curries, peanut sauce in sauces, and pineapple in just about anything).  Combining them in such a way that somehow involves a bunch of kale and you're left with, ostensibly, our dream meal.

This recipe comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home (the Moosewood is a vegetarian [though I think they have fish] restaurant coop in Ithaca, NY...you hippie, upper-crust crazies!).

The rice was a separate recipe but seemed to go with well with the pineapple peanut combo.

Stew:

1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves
1 T veg oil
1 bunch kale or swiss chard, sliced
1 20oz can crushed pineapple
1/2 c peanut butter
1 T hot sauce
1/2 c cilanto
salt
crushed peanuts to top

Saute onion and garlic for about 10 minutes, until onion begins to brown.

Add pineapple with juice, stir, bring to simmer.

Mix in kale, simmer 5 minutes.

Mix in peanut butter, hot sauce, cilantro.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Salt to taste.

Rice:

1 1/4 c water
1 c basmati rice
1/2 c coconut milk
1/2 t tumeric
1/4 t salt
dash of cinnamon
1 dried chile

Bring water to boil.  Add rice and everything else but the chile.

Return to boil, simmer 15 minutes.  Add chile.  Fluff and serve.

It's a nice change of pace from the burritos, curries, and pastas we make so often.  A nice addition to the repertoire.