West African Roasted Pepper and Peanut Butter Chicken

This easy recipe with roasted chicken thighs celebrates the rich flavours of poulet maafe / mafé, a spicy, creamy, nutty chicken stew that is an ultimate comfort food in Western Africa. Instead of stewing the chicken, I marinated bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a peanut sauce overnight, then roasted to perfection. For the sidedish, I serve zoodles tossed with some of peanut sauce. You can serve the chicken with couscous and carrot salad.

	Marinade
9-12 Chicken thighs, bone in and skin on 1-2 tbsp Flat parsley or coriander Salted roasted peanuts Zoodles, to serve Cherry tomatoes, halved, to serve (optional) Pickles chillies, to serve (optional)	1 Red onion, peepled and roughly chopped 3 Garlic cloves 15 g Ginger 30 ml Freshly squeezed emon juice 2 tsp Ras el hanout 1/2 tsp West African pepper blend 1/2 tsp Sweet paprika 1/2 tsp Ground coriander 100 g Natural peanut butter (no sugar and salt added) 15 g Tomato paste 1 Medium tomato, chopped 100 ml Chicken stock 1-2 Scotch bonnet chillies (habanero or piri piri), to taste 1/2 tsp Sea salt

For the marinade, put all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth and well combined.
Place the chicken thighs in a large baking tray, add in the marinade and massage it into the chicken. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Heat the oven to 200C/400F. Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer in a baking tin. Roast for 40 minutes, basting occasionally, until cooked through (they are ready when the juices run clear when pierced in the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer). Alternatively you can cook the thighs on a barbecue – baste them regularly and turn them frequently until cooked through.
Sprinkle the chopped parsley and peanuts over. Serve with zoodles, (cherry tomatoes and pickled chillies if using) tossed with some of the sauce.

30 comments:

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine 10/10/23 13:37: What an awesome blend of flavors, we love peanut butter on chicken!
Lola Martínez 10/10/23 14:10: Prefiero los escabeches de carne, en concreto de pollo y los muslitos asados son como más me gustan. Creo que esa salsa de maní para acompañar le ha de ir muy bien. Un plato muy rico.
Tom 10/10/23 15:00: ...this looks so festive.
foodtravelandwine 10/10/23 18:53: What a beautiful and delicious dish!....it looks so creamy and tasty!!.........Abrazotes, Marcela
DeniseinVA 10/10/23 19:53: I read with great interest all the ingredients. I have never heard of Ras el hanout or seen the West African pepper blend. They might have them here, maybe at a gourmet suppliers. I will have to open my eyes :) Those Scotch Bonnets have a reputation for being very, very hot don't they? The hottest I have ever had is a Thai Chili or a Jalapeno :) Great looking recipe Angie!
David 10/10/23 20:17: Angie, This chicken dish looks great! The spice level could be a challenge for many but the peanut butter should smooth out the heat a bit. As for taking photos of quilts, as long as a flash isn't used, most museums but not all, permit photos of paintings, fabric, etc. Sometimes even my short 'focus light' will be banned but my wife's cell phone can pick up the slack. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
savorthebest 10/10/23 20:48: That looks really delicious. Great meal.
Pam 10/10/23 21:08: Wow! Beautiful and delicious.
Bill 10/10/23 21:11: That looks great.
Christine 10/10/23 21:31: Looks good.
roentare 10/10/23 22:55: Love butter chicken. Thanks for the recipe for a rainy day.
Cooking Julia 10/10/23 23:45: This chicken looks incredible!
Granny Sue 11/10/23 03:43: Yum! Looks amazing, Angie!
Citu 11/10/23 03:51: Se ve rico y diferente. Gracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.
Margaret D 11/10/23 06:42: That would certainly make the chicken not taste so much like chicken - looks delicious.
David M. Gascoigne, 11/10/23 14:04: Sounds wonderful. I have always found West African dishes very tasty. I travelled there extensively for a couple of years in my twenties.
Eva Taylor 11/10/23 17:27: This dish looks and sounds absolutely delicious. Will have to try it now that the cooler weather is upon us.
tigerfish 11/10/23 17:33: We love peanut butter! Recently we had spiced roasted chicken with peanut butter on the side as a dip (inspired by Asian street food - satay!). This West African dish sounds so delicious and warm for the cool weather right now.
Raymund 11/10/23 22:31: Your roasted chicken thighs marinated in a rich and flavorful peanut sauce sound absolutely delicious. It's a unique take on the traditional West African chicken stew, and roasting the chicken thighs would add a wonderful depth of flavor. Serving it with zoodles is a healthy and tasty choice too.
Happy Retiree's Kitchen 11/10/23 23:59: Your marinade has an amazing combination of flavours Angie. This looks so tasty. Lovely photos as always.
Julie 12/10/23 02:46: Chicken and peanut sauce must have been a great combo, looks delicious !!
Emma Loabez 12/10/23 09:35: Hello Angie, we are here again after the holidays.
African cuisine is very diverse, rich and very powerful in flavor.
This chicken preparation turned out great, I loved it.
Happy weekend.
Mbul Kecil 12/10/23 10:30: simple but special for party dinner...thanks for your idea bout carrot Angie
eileeninmd 12/10/23 11:51: Angie, another delicious meal and recipe! Take care, have a great day!
Anonymous 12/10/23 13:01: Hi Angie, it's Bernadette (newclassicrecipe.com). I can't wait to to make this chicken dish. Yum!
My name is Erika. 13/10/23 00:46: I've actually made something like this once, and it was yummy. Of course anything with peanut butter is yummy. Your plating is beautiful Angie.
Sherry's Pickings 13/10/23 06:51: ooh how delicious does this look Angie. I've been making west african chicken stew for years which has lots of capsicums and peanut butter. So tasty!
Marcelle 13/10/23 16:37: This looks like a super flavorful meal, Angie. I love that you used zoodles to serve with it. Your photos are perfection, as always!!
Enya 14/10/23 10:30: A fantastic recipe that everyone we knew really enjoyed! Thanks and keep it up!
Cocoa and Lavender 23/10/23 12:23: I have a wonderful West African peanut soup recipe — which I love — so I know I will love this recipe, too! And such a good excuse to use some of the ras el hanout I brought back from Morocco!