Virginia Peanut Soup

Name: Virginia Peanut Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1 medium white onion, finely diced; 3 stalks celery, finely diced; 3 tbsp unsalted butter; 250 g natural peanut butter (100% peanuts); 1.5 litres good chicken stock; 200 ml single cream or half-and-half; 3 tbsp dry sherry; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 0.5 tsp white pepper; 4 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly crushed, to garnish; 2 tbsp fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to garnish

Colonial American cream of peanut soup with celery and sherry

Origin: Colonial Virginia, United States

From the journey of Peanut.

Virginia peanut soup is one of the oldest American recipes directly tied to the peanut, and one of the most direct culinary connections between the African, Native American, and European strands of colonial Virginia's kitchen culture. The soup appears in Virginia recipe books as early as the 18th century, closely associated with the tavern kitchens of Williamsburg and the plantation house traditions of Tidewater Virginia. It is served today at the King's Arms Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg in a version largely unchanged from colonial practice. The peanut's arrival in Virginia is attributed to multiple routes; Spanish colonists from the Caribbean, and importantly, enslaved West Africans who recognised the groundnut from their own culinary culture and incorporated it into the cooking of the plantation kitchen. The smooth, ivory-coloured soup is deceptively rich: peanut butter provides the body, chicken stock the savour, cream the silkiness, and a measure of sherry the aromatic depth that colonial cooks associated with elegant table cooking. Ground roasted peanuts garnish the finished bowl, reinforcing the ingredient's identity in every spoonful.

Ingredients

Base

1 medium white onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
3 tbsp unsalted butter

Peanut

250 g natural peanut butter (100% peanuts)

Liquid

1.5 litres good chicken stock

Dairy

200 ml single cream or half-and-half

Flavouring

3 tbsp dry sherry

Seasoning

1 tsp salt, or to taste
0.5 tsp white pepper

Garnish

4 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly crushed, to garnish
2 tbsp fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to garnish

Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook gently for 10 minutes until completely soft and translucent; do not allow them to colour.
Add the peanut butter to the pot and stir into the softened vegetables until combined. Gradually add the chicken stock, whisking constantly to ensure the peanut butter dissolves smoothly into the liquid. Bring to a simmer.
Simmer gently for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and blend the soup until perfectly smooth; either with a stick blender directly in the pot, or in batches in a standing blender.
Return to low heat. Stir in the cream and sherry. Season with salt and white pepper. Heat gently until just below simmering; do not boil after adding the cream.
Ladle into warm bowls. Garnish with a generous scatter of crushed roasted peanuts and chopped chives. Serve with good bread.

Notes

The quality of the peanut butter matters significantly in this soup; natural peanut butter (ground peanuts only, no added oil, sugar, or stabilisers) gives a cleaner, more direct peanut flavour than commercial peanut butters. The sherry can be omitted for a simpler version, but the aromatic lift it provides is characteristic of the colonial recipe. The soup reheats well; add a splash of stock and a little cream when reheating, as it thickens considerably on cooling.

The Gastrographer

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control