Red Red (African Stewed Black-Eyed Peas)
This West African stew is a delicious and hearty dish that combines fresh ginger, cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas), garlic, fresh tomatoes, and caramelized leeks, all simmered together in traditional sustainable palm oil. The world’s most used vegetable oil. It gives the added “red” in the name of the dish. Traditionally a celebratory food perfect for a high-quality meal full of plant protein. Moreover, it’s extremely affordable to serve a crowd, making it a popular choice for large gatherings. With its comforting texture and rich flavor, this stew will fill you up and satisfy even the meat eaters in your group!
If you don’t want to purchase palm oil, or can’t find a sustainable source, but still want a red oil, set some oil over low heat and drop in a few annatto seeds, or, if you’re like me and like things spicy, some dried red chiles. Let them sizzle gently a few seconds, then take the oil off the heat and let it steep overnight. Voila! Red oil.
Still too much? Use lard or olive oil or whatever fat or oil makes you happy. Just make this dish!
- Prep Time15 min
- Ready in1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups Black-eyed peas dried and soaked overnight in water that covers them
- 1 (3 inch) piece fresh ginger minced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 3 large fresh Roma tomatoes grated on the large side of a box grater
- 4 carrots minced
- 1 large red onion minced
- 2 leeks whites minced greens reserved for garnish
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 scotch bonnet/habanero/hot pepper of choice
- 32 ounces quality vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
Cooking Instructions
Rinse and dry black-eyed pea beans and pick through and discard any foreign object. **Move to step 5 if using canned beans.** Add beans to a large pot covering with 3-4 inches of cold water.
Cover and let sit overnight or 6 to 8 hours.
Drain the soaked beans, rinse, and place the beans in a Dutch oven or pressure cooker. Follow instructions for cooking beans in your pressure cooker. It takes roughly between 8 to 12 minutes to cook. If not using a pressure cook, cook the beans for about 50- 60 mins or until tender.
Drain the cooked beans and set aside.
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Sauté the onions and leeks white parts only (reserving tops for garnish) in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste , minced ginger, minced garlic, paprika and hot pepper if using. Cook while stirring for about 60 seconds.
Let it simmer, for about 10-15 minutes, add veggie broth if needed to prevent burns. Continue to cook the sauce, stirring occasionally.
Finally add the beans, green parts of leeks you reserved and the remaining stock/water and bring to a boil and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
Adjust for seasonings, and for the beans consistency with veggie broth and serve.
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