Spicy tofu peanut stew

A few weeks ago I took my other half away for a long weekend in North Wales. We stayed at an amazing retreat called Trigonos, which serves incredibly imaginative and tasty vegetarian and vegan food. On the first night we stayed there we were served a really good tofu tomato and peanut stew. As I didn't write down the ingredients I could taste at the time and my other half has swanned off to Indonesia, I had to try to guess what was in it. I am pretty pleased with the outcome, and will happily attempt it again.

The peanut butter really thickens up the sauce and gives it a very luxurious texture. I used 100% peanut butter with no added oil/sugar/salt as I find the normal sugary peanut butters too sweet. I did however add sugar to the recipe to sweeten the tomatoes, so you can use whatever peanut butter you have in your cupboard. If you have decent quality tinned tomatoes or sugary peanut butter you could completely miss out the sugar.

Spicy tofu peanut stew

Serves 2
Olive oil
Half a block of tofu (I used Cauldron firm tofu), chopped into 2cm pieces
1/4 aubergine, chopped into 2cm pieces
 1 large handful kale
2 chestnut mushrooms
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chunky peanut butter (I used no Meridian no added sugar/salt)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 vegetable stock cube
40ml soya milk (or alternative)
1tsp sugar (optional, depending on your peanut butter and quality of chopped tomatoes)
1tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
a few dashes of soy sauce

1. Heat a splash of olive oil in a saucepan over a medium/high heat and add the tofu
2. Cook for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tofu has begun to brown
3. Add a few splashes of soy sauce to add colour to the tofu
4. Add the aubergines and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, stock cube, peanut butter, sugar, paprika and chilli flakes
6. Turn the heat down to low/medium and cover the pan
7. After 5 minutes, add the kale and soya milk, and taste to check seasoning and adjust if necessary
8. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until the kale is cooked with a little bite
9. Serve with rice or bulghar wheat (as above)