Caldo de Mancarra — Print Recipe

A rich, creamy groundnut soup with chicken, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. Guinea-Bissau's signature comfort dish.

Ingredients

500g bone-in chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks)
200g smooth natural peanut butter (no sugar added)
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 400g), peeled and cut into 3cm cubes
3 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 large onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, left whole
750ml water or chicken broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste

Instructions

1 Season the chicken pieces generously with salt, then heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken on all sides for about six minutes until golden, working in batches to avoid crowding.
2 Remove the browned chicken and set aside, then add the diced onion and garlic to the same pot, cooking for four minutes until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom.
3 Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste to the pot, stirring well, and cook for five minutes until the tomatoes break down into a thick, concentrated sauce that coats the back of a wooden spoon.
4 Scoop the peanut butter into a bowl, add one cup of warm water, and whisk until completely smooth with no lumps remaining, then pour this thinned peanut mixture into the pot and stir to combine with the tomato base.
5 Return the browned chicken to the pot, add the remaining water or broth and the whole scotch bonnet pepper, then bring everything to a gentle boil before reducing the heat to low and covering with a lid.
6 After twenty minutes of simmering, add the cubed sweet potatoes to the pot, nestling them around the chicken pieces, then re-cover and continue cooking for another twenty-five minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.
7 Remove the whole scotch bonnet pepper, then squeeze the lime juice over the stew and stir gently to incorporate. Taste and adjust the salt, adding more as needed to balance the richness of the peanut sauce.
8 Serve the caldo de mancarra hot in deep bowls over steamed white rice, ensuring each portion has a piece of chicken, several chunks of sweet potato, and a generous ladleful of the creamy groundnut sauce.