The healthfulness of the peanut is one reason it had such
staying power as the Portuguese took the nut around the world.
The peanut is the legume with the highest amount of oil, but
it also behaves like the "nut" with the highest
amount of protein. A two-tablespoon serving of peanut butter
contains 12.2 grams of unsaturated fat and 3.3 grams of saturated
fat, and 0 cholesterol. Its
hybrid qualities achieve many levels of taste and function.
As a fatty nut and a high-protein legume,
peanuts contribute to satiety. Subjects in a recent study
said eating peanuts made them feel full. Researchers at
Purdue University found that peanuts or peanut butter promote
satiety for nearly three hours while carbohydrate snacks
(for example, rice cakes) lasted half an hour. www.peanut-institute.org
All of this makes the peanut an ideal
vegetarian food. The highly developed vegetarian cultures
in India and the functionally vegetarian diets of much of
China and Southeast Asia blossomed when peanuts walked onto
their stages.
Contemporary chefs can compose plates
using any of the peanut sauces or salsas, whether the Llapingachos
of Peru or a Spicy Roasted
Peanut Salsa or Mole.
Maricel Presilla says she
often uses the Llapingachos sauce to form a vegetarian plate
with beans and corn tortillas.
Recipes:
Peanut Sauce
Hyderabad Eggplant Curry
in Sesame-Peanut Gravy (Baghare Baigan)
Spicy Lemongrass Tofu with
Basil
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