Chicken Peanut Stew

The ward is quiet in the way that medical places are quiet — not peaceful quiet but managed quiet, the kind you get when everyone is being careful. I've been here a week. I don't have a good handle on time.

I remember conversations with a doctor whose name I keep forgetting. I remember group therapy, which I hated — four men in a circle talking about their feelings, the kind of thing that makes a Montana ranch kid want to find a different door. I went anyway because there was no door. I went because Mom was there every morning when visiting hours started and she sat next to my bed and didn't say much and I couldn't face her if I'd walked out.

She comes at nine and leaves at three. Every day. She's driving two hours round trip from Roundup. She doesn't say this is a sacrifice. She'd say she's doing what a mother does. Colleen Gallagher has been doing what a mother does for thirty-eight years and she's never once used it as leverage.

The ward has a little activity room with a small kitchen. On Wednesday one of the nurses brought in a slow cooker of chicken soup — made it herself, she said, because she always makes too much. She put it out for whoever wanted it. I had two bowls. I hadn't eaten much since the barn. There's something about soup when you're broken — it doesn't ask anything of you. You don't have to cut or chew or make decisions. It's just warm and there, and it goes into you, and your body knows what to do without you having to participate.

The medications are making me foggy. That's the tradeoff — the fog is better than the other thing. Barely, but better. Derek would have had something to say about me being in a psychiatric ward. He'd have been wrong but he'd have had something to say. I miss him.

That nurse’s slow cooker soup — two bowls of it on a Wednesday when I hadn’t eaten much in days — is why I’m sharing this recipe. I’ve made versions of it since then, trying to get close to what she brought in. This chicken peanut stew is the closest I’ve found: warm, rich, uncomplicated. The peanut butter gives it a thickness that feels like it’s holding you together. You don’t have to do much. You just let it simmer and then you eat it and your body remembers how to work.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cups chicken broth
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup chopped collard greens or kale, stems removed
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped roasted peanuts for garnish
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Brown the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Build the base. In the same pot, add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add liquids and sweet potato. Pour in the diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Add the sweet potato cubes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender.
Stir in the peanut butter. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot broth into a bowl and whisk in the peanut butter until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the pot and stir to combine.
Return the chicken. Add the browned chicken back to the pot along with the chopped greens. Simmer for 10 more minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the greens are wilted.
Serve. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Peanut Stew — The Soup That Doesn’t Ask Anything of You