"In cooking school, we were taught the five French 'mother sauces' as defined by the twentieth-century master of French cooking, Auguste Escoffier: béchamel, velouté, sauce espagnole (a simple brown sauce), sauce tomate, and hollandaise. The foundational sauce to the Afro-Asian flavor profile is what we call the Mother Africa sauce: West African peanut sauce."
- Chef JJ Johnson
This West African Peanut Sauce recipe is an easy peanut sauce you can enjoy with your favorite mains & sides. Our kids love to make this peanut butter sauce as much as they love to eat it. Discover your whole family's new favorite sauce: the Mother Africa sauce.
Grab a free printable recipe for kids at the bottom or use the table of contents below to skip to it.
If you like this easy peanut sauce, be sure to check out West African hot sauce, jollof rice, Afro-Asian-American gumbo, New Year's Day rice and peas, Persian shrimp with rice, Costa Rican beans and rice, and oxtail, also from Chef JJ, as well as this Puerto Rican sofrito and vegetable gumbo.
Learn more about cooking with kids.
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Between Harlem and Heaven Cookbook
This Mother Africa sauce recipe comes from Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day by JJ Johnson, Alexander Smalls, and Veronica Chambers.
This cookbook has so much to offer a new or experienced home cook. The recipes are approachable and can easily be combined as you learn more about the food and the Afro-Asian-American flavor profile.
As someone who cooks with kids, I also appreciate the historical and cultural lessons that come with it. When combined with hands-on cooking lessons, they support meaningful experiences for learners.
In his latest cookbook, The Simple Art of Rice: Recipes from Around the World for the Heart of Your Table, Chef JJ explores the role of rice throughout history and across cultures.
Find more from JJ Johnson in Black Food, at FIELDTRIP, on Cleo TV, and on Chef JJ's YouTube.
Learn more about Alexander Smalls and Veronica Chambers.
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What is a Mother Sauce?
If you're thinking mother sauce refers to the lovingly curated lessons coming out of my kitchen and dripping into your inbox when you sign up for our free Food From Around the World: Cooking Lessons for Kids series, you may be onto something.
However, a mother sauce also refers to a foundational building block sauce from which many other sauces are derived. This Mother Africa sauce lays the foundation for the Afro-Asian flavor profile explored in Between Harlem and Heaven cookbook.
Learn more about the five French mother sauces.
Wondering What to Eat With West African Peanut Sauce?
As Chef JJ states in Between Harlem and Heaven:
This is a sauce that tastes good on everything. You can pour it over a bowl of rice. You can dice up a sweet potato and mix it in as a stew. It tastes delicious with the meat of the chicken thigh crumbled into the mix.
- JJ Johnson
This mother sauce recipe pairs perfectly with sambusas and oxtail. You can also soak up any leftovers with kolach, easter bread, or biscuits. The possibilities are endless with this easy peanut sauce.
How Long Does Peanut Sauce Last in the Fridge?
You can keep this sauce in a sealed container in your fridge for up to 5 days. Add it to your favorite mains and sides to discover exciting new flavor combinations.
West African Peanut Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- onion
- carrots
- tomato
- celery
- garlic
- bay leaf
- cilantro - for the best results, use fresh cilantro
- bird's-eye chile - you can substitute bell pepper if you prefer a mild alternative
- lemon juice
- tomato paste
- peanut butter - we like to cook and bake with this powdered peanut butter as a healthier option, but any unsweetened creamy peanut butter will work
- vegetable stock
- cumin - cumin seeds work best for this recipe but you can also use ground cumin
- salt - we like this pink Himalayan salt
- oil - the recipe calls for olive oil but you can also use avocado oil, grapeseed oil, etc.
Equipment
- prep bowls
- child-friendly knife
- cutting board
- 5.2 quart saucier
- measuring spoons
- measuring cup
- blender
1. Chop the Carrots, Onion, and Garlic
Wash your hands with soap and water. Use a knife and cutting board to chop the carrots, onion, and garlic. Place them in a prep bowl when finished.
2. Prep the Tomato, Celery, and Chile
Chop the tomato, celery, and chile. If you're using fresh cilantro, you can chop that now as well. Transfer the ingredients to a clean prep bowl.
This West African peanut sauce recipe calls for blending at the end, so however you slice and dice your ingredients will work just fine.
3. Turn the Stove to Medium Heat
Head to the stove and turn it to medium heat.
4. Heat the Oil in the Pan
Add the oil to the saucier or pan and allow it to heat up.
5. Add the Cumin
Add the cumin. If you're using cumin seeds, allow them to fry for a minute while stirring.
6. Add the Carrots, Onion, and Garlic
Add the carrots, onion, and garlic from the prep bowl to your pan and give it a stir.
7. Add the Tomato, Celery, and Chile
Add the prepped tomato, celery, and chile to the pan and stir.
8. Drop Your Bay Leaf into the Pan
You will remove the bay leaf at the end. Our kids enjoy keeping track of the bay leaf in the pan while we make our way through this peanut sauce recipe.
9. Add Cilantro, Salt, and Lemon Juice
Use measuring spoons as needed to add the salt, lemon juice, and cilantro. Stir the ingredients to coat them in the oil. Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes or until they soften.
10. Add the Tomato Paste
Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes.
The contents of your pan should look similar to this.
11. Add the Peanut Butter
If you're using creamy peanut butter, you can add it now. If you're using powdered as we do, you'll want to add the appropriate amount of water and mix it up before adding it to the pan.
You can add some of the stock to the pan if that helps you work the peanut butter into the vegetables.
Cook for about 5 minutes, until the oil separates from the peanut butter.
12. Add the Vegetable Stock
Add your vegetable stock or broth to the pan. Use your wooden spoon to remove the bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan as you mix everything together.
13. Turn Up the Heat to Medium-High
Turn up the heat to medium-high and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally as it cooks.
If you're anything like us, you're using this time as an opportunity to lick any remaining peanut butter from your equipment.
Our kids love this peanut butter sauce and nothing goes to waste.
14. Remove the Bay Leaf and Puree
Remove the bay leaf from the pan. Turn off the stove. Use an immersion blender or a standard blender to puree this easy peanut sauce. Add additional salt as desired.
One of the reasons we like using this copper saucier for this West African peanut sauce recipe, is because the copper pan allows the sauce to cool more quickly than cast iron. Using the saucier, we can blend the sauce and serve it faster.
This copper saucier also weighs less and holds more (5.2 quarts) than our last cast iron saucier.
15. Serve With Your Favorite Mains and Sides
Serve this Mother Africa sauce with your favorite mains and sides.
On this day, we chose to top these delicious bison meatballs with the Mother Africa sauce and it is an incredible combination.
Montessori Transfer Work: Spooning
This is the perfect opportunity to practice transferring skills. Katalina uses a wooden spoon to transfer the Mother Africa sauce from the copper saucier to the bison meatballs on the baking slab.
This type of spooning activity aids in the development of patience, concentration, coordination, and fine-motor skills.
Do you like finger food? If so, this is the combo for you.
Free West African Peanut Sauce Recipe for Pre-Readers and Up
Grab your free printable recipe cards above. Kids can gather ingredients using the ingredient list, gather their equipment with the tools list, and prepare the meal using the step-by-step recipe cards, with assistance as needed.
The cards are easy to use, include pictures, and encourage confidence and independence in the kitchen. They also make an excellent addition to your Montessori continent box for Africa.
Montessori Continent Boxes
Explore every continent with these solid maple hardwood boxes.
The Mother Africa Sauce: West African Peanut Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ white onion diced
- ½ cup carrots chopped or 1 medium carrot
- 6 cherry tomatoes or 1 plum tomato
- ¼ cup celery diced or 1 rib
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoon cilantro or ¼ cup fresh
- 1 bird's-eye chile seeded and minced
- 1 teaspoon salt more to taste
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup unsweetened, creamy peanut butter or powdered
- 4 cups vegetable stock or broth
Instructions
- Wash your hands with soap and water. Use a knife and cutting board to chop the carrots, onion, and garlic. Place them in a prep bowl when finished.
- Chop the tomato, celery, and chile. If you're using fresh cilantro, you can chop that now as well. Transfer the ingredients to a clean prep bowl.
- Head to the stove and turn it to medium heat.
- Add the oil to the saucier or pan and allow it to heat up.
- Add the cumin. If you're using cumin seeds, allow them to fry for a minute while stirring.
- Add the carrots, onion, and garlic from the prep bowl to your pan and give it a stir.
- Add the prepped tomato, celery, and chile to the pan and stir.
- Drop your bay leaf into the pan.
- Use measuring spoons as needed to add the salt, lemon juice, and cilantro. Stir the ingredients to coat them in the oil. Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes or until they soften.
- Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the peanut butter: If you're using creamy peanut butter, you can add it now. If you're using powdered as we do, you'll want to add the appropriate amount of water and mix it up before adding it to the pan. You can add some of the stock to the pan if that helps you work the peanut butter into the vegetables. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the oil separates from the peanut butter.
- Add your vegetable stock or broth to the pan. Use your wooden spoon to remove the bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan as you mix everything together.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally as it cooks.
- Remove the bay leaf from the pan. Turn off the stove. Use an immersion blender or a standard blender to puree this easy peanut sauce. Add additional salt as desired.
- Serve this Mother Africa sauce with your favorite mains and sides.
Notes
- Sauce will keep for 5 days in the fridge
- You can substitute bell pepper for the bird's-eye chile if you prefer a mild alternative
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
- Full Lesson Info and Pictures at: https://happyhomeschooladventures.com/peanut-sauce-recipe
Nutrition
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
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