Peanut Butter Soup

I was in Minnesota this past week visiting my in-laws and my father-in-law, Jim, taught me this incredibly easy yet quite tasty soup. I personally have never heard of "peanut butter soup" so I was intrigued to learn the recipe. Apparently, this is a take on an old Mennonite recipe, but the soup definitely has some West African origins. You can use any hearty veggies you want, and you can also add cooked rice (we didn't) to make it a bit heartier. Top the soup with a garnish of chopped roasted peanuts and don't forget to serve the slices of lime with it.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 to 5 celery stalks and its leaves, diced
• 3 to 4 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 large white onion, cut into a small dice
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 5 to 6 asparagus stalks, cut into 1/4" pieces
• I box of white mushrooms, cleaned and cut into a dice
• 1 can (49 oz.) Swanson® chicken broth, low sodium
• 3/4 to 1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter (natural organic peanut butter, if possible)
• Salt, to taste
• Cut limes, for garnish
• Roated peanuts, for garnish
• Sriracha hot sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a large stock pot heat the butter on medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions and sweat for 8 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high and add the vinegar, asparagus, and mushrooms and fresh ground black pepper and saute another 5 minutes, until veggies are softened. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 4 more minutes. Add a little bit of the hot broth to the peanut butter to thin out and temper, then add it to the soup and mix to combine well. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if needed.

To serve soup, laddle into bowls and sprinkle a little of the roasted peanuts on top. We put a little sriracha hot sauce and squeezes of lime juice on ours. It was crazy good.