Chef Ronnie Nasuti of Tiki’s Grill & Bar was inspired by African cuisine to come up with a hearty soup with peanut flavors as his contribution to the 10th Empty Bowl Hawai‘i fundraiser on April 12.

His chicken and peanut soup, loaded with collard greens and sweet potatoes, is “essentially a meal in itself, a stew-like soup” built around ingredients available in Africa, the source of the year’s trendiest cuisine, Nasuti said. Peanuts are a staple in the country, packed with protein to combat malnutrition in an underfed population.

The Tiki Grill is among 16 restaurants providing artisanal soups and accompaniments in partnership with the Hawai‘i Potters’ Guild and Aloha Harvest, whose mission is to “rescue” quality, donated food for the poor.

Ticket holders will have the opportunity to select a keepsake from among bowls made by Potters Guild members and others in the community, as a reminder that each day someone goes hungry and a bowl is left empty.

Since the fundraiser began in 2009, thousands of bowls have been contributed to the effort.

Nasuti said he’s made the soup about three times for Tiki’s soup menu, and it’s been a winner with customers as well as his young staff, a majority of them Southeast Asians familiar with peanuts in savory foods.

It’s usually served with rice, which adds even more heft to the meal, he said.

The soup has a distinct peanut flavor, which he built by adding 3/4 cup of peanut butter to a recipe that serves eight to 12.

Other soups to be made for this year’s event include Kauai shrimp bisque by MW Restaurant, pork and mung bean soup by the Pig and the Lady, and Hamakua mushroom barley soup by Basalt.

Other participating restaurants include Cafe Kaila, Duke’s Waikiki, Eat Honolulu, Farm to Barn, Koko Head Cafe, La Tour Bakehouse, Murphy’s Bar and Grill, Nosh, The Nook, Pai Honolulu, Pili Group, Pomaika‘i Ballrooms and Zippy’s.

For chef Ronnie Nazuti’s soup recipe and two others to be served at the fundraiser, click here.