Red Red (Ghanaian black-eyed pea stew with fried plantain)

Recipe No.: W-80

InternationalGhanaian75 minServes 4

It is said that "red red" is named for the two reds that meet on the plate: the red palm oil the beans are cooked in and the ripe fried plantain served beside them. It is a rich stew of black-eyed peas with tomato, onion, ginger and pepper, served with gari, toasted cassava flour, and it feeds a whole family on a small budget. It is plant-based at heart, and people love it at lunch and at any other time of day.

Origin of the dish: Ghana — A popular plant-based dish in Ghana, often served with fried plantain and gari

Photo: Beans with Fried Plantain.jpg by Flixtey, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Ingredients for Red Red

• 1½ cups(300 g) dried black-eyed peas, soaked for 4 hours or overnight
• ⅓ cup(80 ml) red palm oil, or 5 tbsp vegetable oil plus 1 tsp paprika if palm oil is not available
• 1large onion (half blended, half sliced)
• 3medium tomatoes
• 1 tbspfresh ginger
• 3 clovesgarlic
• 1hot pepper (scotch bonnet), or to taste
• salt to taste
• To serve3 ripe plantains, fried, and ½ cup gari (optional)

Method

1. Drain the soaked peas, put them in a pot with water to cover by 5 cm, cook for 40–50 minutes until tender, then drain, keeping 1 cup of the cooking water.
2. Blend half of the onion with the tomatoes, ginger, garlic and pepper until smooth.
3. Heat the palm oil over medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes without letting it smoke, add the sliced onion and stir for 5 minutes.
4. Add the blended mixture and cook for 10–15 minutes until it thickens and the oil shows on the surface.
5. Add the peas, ½ cup of the reserved water and the salt, mash a few peas with the spoon to thicken the stew, and cook for 15 minutes.
6. Cut the plantains into diagonal slices and fry in hot vegetable oil for 2–3 minutes per side until deep golden, and serve over the beans with the gari.

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