Let's get crazy with these peanut recipes

Whether you like them roasted in the shell or crunched into butter and partnered with jelly, peanuts are one popular food.  Last year alone, Americans ate nearly 1.7 billion pounds of the nuts, and peanut butter consumption soared to 900 million pounds. Saveur magazine's Colman Andrews was invited on the “Today” show to share some nutty dishes. Here are the recipes.

Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart

You can gild the lily by topping this ultra-peanutty ice cream — the recipe is based on one in Bruce Weinstein’s "The Ice Cream Book" (William Morrow and Company, 1999) — with chocolate sauce or hot fudge.

1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter, preferably homemade
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup salted roasted shelled peanuts, chopped

Heat 1 cup of milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until just hot. Meanwhile, beat sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl until thick and pale yellow.

Gradually whisk hot milk into egg mixture in bowl, then pour milk–egg mixture into saucepan. Return saucepan to medium-low heat and cook custard, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in half the peanut butter. Strain custard into a large bowl, let cool briefly, stirring often, then stir in cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold, 6 to 8 hours.

Process mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions, adding half the chopped nuts to the ice cream 30 seconds before it has finished churning. Transfer to a bowl, quickly swirl in remaining peanut butter, cover, and freeze until hard. Serve ice cream sprinkled with the remaining nuts.

Cacahuates Enchilados (Chile Peanuts)
Makes 2 cups

Sip tequila with this fiery Mexican bar snack and then temper the flavor — of both — by sucking on wedges of lime. This recipe is an adaptation of one in Diana Kennedy’s "The Essential Cuisines of Mexico" (Clarkson Potter, 2000).

2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
2 cups shelled raw peanuts, skinned
10 cloves garlic
2 to 3 teaspoons chile powder, such as piquín, árbol, or cayenne
2 teaspoons salt

Heat peanut oil or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add peanuts and garlic cloves and cook, stirring constantly, for 4–5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add 2 to 3 teaspoons chile powder, such as piquín, árbol, or cayenne, and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 2 minutes more.

Transfer to a tray; let cool completely. Remove and discard garlic, if you like. Makes 2 cups.

Gado-Gado (Indonesian Vegetable Salad With Peanut Sauce)
Serves 4 to 6

This recipe is based on one in Charmaine Solomon’s "Encyclopedia of Asian Food" (Periplus Editions, 1998). Find long beans at Asian markets.

For the peanut sauce
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
3 dried chiles de árbol
1 teaspoon blacan (dried shrimp paste)
3 tablespoons demerara sugar
2 tablespoons Chinese dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter
1 cup shelled, skinned, roasted peanuts, chopped

For the salad
1 cup mung bean sprouts
3 to 4 large pinches salt
2 carrots, peeled, trimmed, and thinly sliced
1/4 small head green cabbage, cored and thickly sliced
1/4 pound long beans, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces
1/2 bunch watercress, stemmed
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
2 medium waxy potatoes, boiled, peeled, and sliced
1/4 pound fried tofu, sliced into 1/2-inch x 2-inch pieces
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered

For the peanut sauce: Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and fry, stirring often with a slotted spoon, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer shallots to paper towels to let drain.

Add garlic to hot oil and fry until just beginning to color, about 30 seconds. Transfer to paper towels to let drain. Add chiles to hot oil and fry until browned and puffed, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to let cool.

Add shrimp paste to hot oil and cook, stirring constantly, for 20 to 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and carefully stir in sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, and peanut butter. Transfer peanut sauce to a small bowl and set aside to let cool.

Stem and finely chop fried chiles, then add to peanut sauce. Add chopped nuts, reserved shallots and garlic, and 3/4 cup cold water, and stir to combine. Set sauce aside.

For the salad: Put a colander in the sink, add sprouts to colander, and pour a small pot of boiling water over them. Drain well and set aside to let cool. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, then add salt. Add carrots to boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Transfer carrots with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to let cool. Repeat parboiling process with cabbage and long beans, cooking cabbage for 5–7 minutes and long beans for 2–3 minutes, transferring each to a bowl of ice water as done to let cool. Thoroughly drain carrots, cabbage, and long beans and transfer to a large bowl. Add bean sprouts and toss to combine.

To serve, arrange watercress and cucumbers around a large serving platter. Put parboiled vegetables in center and arrange potatoes, tofu, and eggs around vegetables. Spoon some of the peanut sauce on top of salad. Serve salad with remaining sauce on the side.

Mafé (Peanut Butter Stew)
Serves 4 to 6

In the West African nation of Senegal, this traditional stew is also made with meat — either lamb or beef. This recipe is an adaptation of one in Jessica B. Harris’s "The Africa Cookbook" (Simon & Schuster, 1998).

1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 8 to 10 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter, preferably homemade
1/3 cup tomato paste
5 carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a heavy medium pot over medium heat. Working in batches, lightly brown chicken all over, then transfer to a bowl as done. Add onions to pot and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until soft, about 5 minutes.

Combine peanut butter and 1-1/2 cups cold water in a small bowl. Combine tomato paste and 2 cups hot water in another bowl. Stir peanut butter and tomato paste mixtures into pot, scraping any browned bits stuck to bottom of pot with the spoon.

Return chicken to pot and stir well, then add carrots, thyme, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Adjust seasonings. Remove thyme and bay leaves. Serve stew with hot cooked rice, if you like.

Fried Peanuts
Spanish peanuts contain more oil than other varieties and are our favorite for frying; their skins get crisp and the nuts stay moist.

Pour unrefined peanut oil into a large skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch and heat over medium heat until hot, about 350°F on a candy thermometer. Add 2 cups shelled raw peanuts, preferably Spanish, and fry until a shade darker, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Season with salt, if you like, while still hot. Let cool. Makes 2 cups.

Peanut Butter
Uniform-size runner peanuts are often used for making peanut butter. This peanut butter won’t be as smooth as some commercial types.

Grind together in a food processor just until smooth 4 cups shelled, skinned, roasted peanuts, preferably runner; 2 tablespoons unrefined peanut oil; and 1 teaspoon salt. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. Makes about 2 cups.

Roasted Peanuts
Virginia peanuts, with their large kernels and meaty texture, are our choice for snacking on after roasting.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put 4 cups shelled raw peanuts, preferably Virginia, on a sheet pan and roast in oven, shaking pan often, for 5 minutes. Let peanuts cool briefly; rub off skins with fingers. Return peanuts to pan and continue roasting, shaking pan often, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes more. Season nuts with salt, if you like, while still hot. Transfer to another tray; let cool. Makes 4 cups.

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