Wild African Peanut Soup

This is a lighter version of the Groundnut Stew that I posted a couple of years ago. Groundnuts and peanuts are the same thing. Who knew? This recipe adds a bit of fresh ginger for a little "zip". Give this to your kiddos and they will love it--so will you! My daughter originally got this off of the very excellent "Budgetbytes.com" site--I adjusted it only slightly. I also added the word "Wild" to the title because I like the word "Wild".... Yield: Feeds 4 big eaters or 5 Pygmies.

Ingredients:

1 T vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic
1 inch knob of fresh ginger
1-inch fresh ginger
1 medium sweet potato
1 medium onion
1 t cumin
1/8 t ground cayenne pepper
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1/2 C natural-style chunky peanut butter (the kind with oil on the top)
6 C vegetable or chicken broth
1 lb raw chicken meat (breasts or tenders are fine) chopped into large cubes
1/2 bunch rinsed collard greens (2-3 cups chopped)
1/4 bunch cilantro (optional garnish)

Directions:

Peel and mince ginger and garlic very fine. Sauté in vegetable oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until garlic is soft and fragrant but not brown. Dice onion and add to pot. Cut the sweet potato into 1/2" cubes and add to pot. Sauté until it takes on a darker appearance. Meanwhile add broth to a 3 qt. pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken and cover. Boil until chicken is no longer pink. In the other pot--season sweet potato mixture with cumin and cayenne. Add tomato paste and peanut butter and stir until mixed. Gradually add broth in which the chicken was cooked to the sweet potato/peanut butter mix--then add chicken. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil. Add chopped collard greens and cook about 15 minutes until greens are limp and potatoes are soft. Squash the sweet potatoes a bit with a potato masher or fork in order to make the soup thicker. Ladle soup into large bowls and sprinkle with chopped cilantro (if desired).