Nigerian Black-Eyed Pea Stew (Ewa Riro)

About This Recipe

Ewa riro, meaning cooked beans in Yoruba, is a black-eyed pea stew found throughout southwestern Nigeria, usually served alongside plantain, rice or agege bread. The beans are boiled until fully tender, a step that takes patience since black-eyed peas need a longer simmer than lentils, then combined with a blended pepper sauce built from the same tomato, red bell pepper and scotch bonnet base used in jollof and other Nigerian stews. Palm oil is traditionally used to fry the pepper base, giving the stew a distinctive reddish-orange color and slightly nutty, earthy flavor that vegetable oil alone doesn't replicate, though vegetable oil works as a substitute for those who don't have it on hand. Smoked fish or crayfish is often stirred in for depth, though the dish is easily made fully vegetarian by leaving those out and relying on the beans and pepper sauce alone. The finished stew is thick, deeply savory and slightly spicy, with beans that have absorbed the sauce fully rather than sitting in a thin broth, making it filling enough to serve as a main dish rather than a side.

Ingredients

Serves 5

• 2 cupsdried black-eyed peas(soaked 1 hour)
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt(divided)
• 2ripe tomatoes
• 1red bell pepper
• 0.5scotch bonnet chile(adjust to taste)
• 1onion(half blended, half diced)
• 0.33 cuppalm oil or vegetable oil
• 2 tbspground crayfish(optional)
• 2seasoning cubes(crumbled)
• 0.5 cupsmoked fish(flaked, optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil the beans

   Drain the soaked black-eyed peas and boil in fresh water with half the salt until fully tender, 40 to 50 minutes, topping up water as needed. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. 2

   Blend the pepper base

   While the beans cook, blend tomatoes, red bell pepper, scotch bonnet and half the onion until smooth.

3. 3

   Fry the base

   Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Fry diced onion until soft, then add the blended pepper mixture. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and darkens, 15 to 20 minutes.

   Let the pepper sauce cook down until you see the oil separate slightly at the edges -- that's the sign it's concentrated enough to coat the beans properly.

4. 4

   Combine with beans

   Stir the cooked beans into the pepper sauce along with crayfish, seasoning cubes and smoked fish if using. Add a splash of the reserved bean liquid to loosen if needed.

5. 5

   Simmer to finish

   Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans have absorbed the sauce and the stew is thick. Adjust salt to taste and serve hot with plantain, rice or bread.

Variations

• •

  Ewa aganyin style: mash a portion of the cooked beans slightly for a creamier texture alongside whole beans.

• •

  Fully vegetarian: omit crayfish and smoked fish, and add a splash of vegetable stock for depth instead.

• •

  With boiled eggs: serve topped with halved boiled eggs, a common street-food style pairing.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container; the stew thickens as it sits, so add a splash of water when reheating on the stove. Freezes well for up to 2 months.

Frequently Asked Questions