Gary's Peanut Soup by Gary Saunders - from "Home Plate Cookbook" (1998)

RECIPE

1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 cup butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 quarts chicken stock or canned chicken broth
1/2 cup peanuts
1 tbsp. oil
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 3/4 cups light cream
chopped peanuts

Saute onion and celery in butter until soft.  Add flour, stirring until well blended.  Gradually add chicken stock, stirring until smooth.

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and strain.

Place 1/2 cup peanuts and oil in a food processor, and process until smooth.  Add ground peanut mixture, peanut butter, and cream to strained mixture, stirring until well blended and smooth.  Cook over low heat until warm (do not boil).

Garnish each serving with chopped peanuts.

I love peanut soup.  Friggin love it.

Peanut soup is a west African thing, and a southern U.S. thing.  I have prepared versions from both regions, and this one here is one of the simplest, especially if you have most of these ingredients on hand already.

The end result of this recipe from the Home Plate Cookbook is a salty-peanutty broth that I fought hard not to guzzle right out of the bowl like a maniac.  The addition of chopped peanuts gives a crunchy surprise as you mow through your serving.

If peanut soup is foreign to you, go ahead and give it a try.  It's thinner and more savoury than a peanut butter smoothie, but just as delish if not more.

And if you really wanted to make this into a thematic baseball soup, top it with some cracker jacks right before serving.