recipe
Ewa Riro: Nigerian Stewed Beans
Soft black-eyed peas folded into a separate palm-oil onion and pepper sauce, with a stovetop method and clear bean-tenderness cues.
Unsoaked beans may need longer to soften.
About 4 main servings, or 6 smaller portions with rice or plantain
Ingredients and method
About 4 main servings, or 6 smaller portions with rice or plantain
Planning estimate: 1½–2 hr · Easy. Unsoaked beans may need longer to soften.
Timing guide: Allow roughly 60–90 minutes or longer for the beans. Prepare the 15–20-minute pepper sauce while they simmer, then combine for about 10 minutes. Preparation and bringing the pot to a boil are included; follow tenderness, not a deadline.
Method
- Spread the beans on a tray, remove stones and damaged beans, then rinse. Put them in a heavy 4-quart pot with the diced onion and 6 cups water. These beans keep their skins.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer with the lid partly open. Cook until a bean crushes easily with a fork and has no chalky center, commonly 60–90 minutes but sometimes longer. Check periodically; if liquid falls below the beans before they soften, add hot water in small amounts. Stir gently near the bottom to check for sticking.
- Meanwhile, coarsely blend the remaining onion and hot pepper with just enough of the measured blending water to move the blades. Use gloves or wash your hands thoroughly after handling hot peppers, and avoid touching your eyes.
- Warm the red palm oil in a second heavy pot over medium-low heat until fluid. Keep its red color; do not bleach it or bring it to smoking. Carefully spoon in the wet onion-pepper mixture to limit splashing, then add the optional bouillon and starting salt.
- Cook the sauce at a gentle bubbling pace for about 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until the onion has softened, the mixture is concentrated and a little oil is visible around it. If it catches, lower the heat and add a spoonful of water.
- When the beans are thoroughly soft, stir them and their remaining cooking liquid into the sauce. If much liquid remains, simmer uncovered to thicken; do not rush this by draining away all the bean broth. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring along the bottom, until the sauce and beans form a thick, spoonable stew.
- Taste and adjust salt. Crush a few beans against the pot if you want a creamier consistency, leaving plenty whole. Add a splash of hot water if too stiff. Serve with fried ripe plantain, bread or plain rice.
Choose the beans and keep the skins
Ewa riro is a Nigerian stewed-bean dish associated with Yoruba cooking. Black-eyed peas and Nigerian brown or honey beans are common choices. This recipe uses dry black-eyed peas for a readily identifiable US ingredient; honey beans contribute a different sweetness and may soften at a different rate.
Unlike the beans prepared for moi moi and akara, these are cooked with their skins. Old beans can take much longer, so softness matters more than the clock. Canned beans are already cooked and do not fit the dry-bean water quantity or timing.
A separate sauce, then a gentle finish
Abi Olayiwola describes cooking the beans before combining them with a separately reduced onion-pepper sauce. That is the method here. Lola Osinkolu presents another version that boils peppers with the beans and includes smoked turkey and crayfish. The stages are different, so their cooking times are not interchangeable.
Red palm oil contributes the characteristic color and flavor. Neutral oil will cook the sauce but produce a different dish. The vegetable version here omits seafood and meat; check bouillon for wheat, soy or other allergens, and use a confirmed vegetarian product if that matters to you.
Keep leftovers safely
Warm the beans gently with a splash of water, stirring to heat them evenly. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking, or 1 hour when the surroundings are above 90°F. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or colder, use within 3–4 days and reheat to 165°F.