pineapple tempeh stew

This recipe is a hybrid of African Peanut Stew from the Moosewood Cookbook, and a tempeh patty from a vegan Caribbean restaurant that has sadly gone out of business. Whenever I make this stew for someone for the first time, they invariably make a face at the ingredients list -- probably thinking, "pineapple, peanut butter, and Tabasco...seriously?" And then they gobble down the whole bowl once it's cooked. So for those of you nervous about cooking with pineapple in savory dishes, I mean this in the nicest possible way- get over it.

ingredients:

one small onion
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 red pepper
1/2 package of tempeh cut into small cubes
1 16oz can of pineapple chucks in pineapple juice (NOT syrup)
1/2 bunch kale
1/4 cup peanut butter
Tabasco to taste


Wash kale and chop or rip with your hands into small salad sized pieces. You can remove the heavy stalk if you want and use only the leaves.

In large pot saute chopped onion and garlic until onion is clear

Add tempeh cubes cooking until the outsides are slightly browned. Stir in red pepper and cook for another few minutes to let the pepper get soft.

Add whole can of pineapple chunks and juice. Bring to a low boil.

Add kale to pot and stir in well so that the hot ingredients can start to wilt down the leaves. If you've never cooked with kale before, right now you are probably thinking you've made way too much. You haven't. This is going to cook down to almost nothing in a few minutes (but this is why you need the much larger pot to begin with).

After kale has softened and turned a bright green color stir in the peanut butter and Tabasco sauce. Although I like spicier food as a rule, with this recipe I use a little less Tabasco then I normally would to keep the flavors balanced. Taste it and see what you like.

Serve over brown rice or another grain of your choice.