Peanut and Sweet Potato Stew Recipe by Melissa Thompson

This dish is resolutely West African, where peanut stews are commonplace. Yet I included it in my book Motherland, because the movement of peanuts around the world chronicles the trade routes that saw food, goods and people cross the Atlantic through the Colombian Stock Exchange and beyond.

Today peanuts grow all over Jamaica, especially in St Elizabeth. So, although it is not a Jamaican dish, it is a dish that draws on the West African influence that inspired Jamaican cuisine.

< em>Serves 4-61 onion, choppedvegetable oilgarlic 2 cloves, crushedginger 2½ cm piece, finely grated ground turmeric 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tbsp ground coriander 1 tbsp ground fenugreek seeds 1 tsp sweet potatoes 2, peeled and cut into 2½ cm cubesvegetable broth 400mlkidney beans 400g peanut butter, drained 2 tbsp spinach 2 bunches spinach, washed and coarsely chopped, stems removed, rice boiled in salt of sea to serve

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, brown the onion in a little oil. After 8 minutes, add the garlic and ginger, and cook for a few more minutes before adding the spices, mixed with a little water to prevent them from burning. Stir and cook until the spices become aromatic.

Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat, then pour in the broth and add the beans and peanut butter . Put a lid on the pot and cook for 10-15 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Remove the lid, stir in the spinach and let stand 5 minutes until cooked. Taste, then add salt until seasoned to your preference.

Serve with boiled rice.

From Homeland by Melissa Thompson (Bloomsbury, £26)