Red Red Recipe- A hearty tasty and no fuss vegetarian black-eyed peas stewed beans- African Style
Here, in the United States, black- eyed peas are best known, especially in the south, as a good luck and prosperity meal. In Africa, it is an everyday, year round meal, used in all forms- ground, dried, fresh and a good source of protein. And may I add it is very affordable .
 If you are unfamiliar with black-eyed beans, they are delicious little white beans with a mild taste and smooth texture- what I like most, is their meaty flavor and texture-they really do have a bite to it, compared to other beans. Â
Lately, there has been more interest in them and so many home cooks and chefs are making use of these beans transforming them into exquisite meals.
Here is a  variation on this rustic yet flavorful use of these beans- known as Red Red.  Red Red is a simple tomato stew that is enjoyed widely through out Ghana.
Don’t quote me on this, rumor has that, it’s  name is derived from combining red palm oil and tomato sauce.  You see, these beans always make everything better for me- especially after a rough week. I make them eat for breakfast with puff puff(one of my all time comfort breakfast) and serve it with fried plantains for lunch. When am on a health kick, I grill or roast plantains.
I so wasn’t on one this weekend, ANYTHING greasy I just had to have. Â
While I absolutely love smoked meat or fish in my beans; Yes, truly do- most often is more about the flavor these proteins add to the meal rather than the meat itself. I thought it would to a good idea to make this without any smoked meats, which is customary.
 However, if you have crayfish (dried shrimp) do include them to make up for the loss of the smoky flavor. A trick I do all the time is to use smoked paprika to add that smoky flavor to my food, when I can’t get a hold of smoked meat.
Believe me, sometimes getting a hold of smoked meats is like searching for a needle in a haystack or paying with an arm and a leg. Ah! I am not willing to shed out that amount of money all the time ! Just for special occasion .
Can’t find or don’t like Black eyed peas? No worries, you could make these with black, red or any other types of beans. Don’t forget to adjust cooking times and flavors. Enjoy!!!
Watch How to Make It
Red Red (African Stewed Black-eyed peas)
Ingredients
- 4 -14.5 ounce canned beans or 1 pound dried beans
- 1/2 – ¾ cup palm oil or Canola oil
- 1 medium Onions
- 1 Tablespoon ginger
- ½ tablespoon garlic
- 2 Tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- • 1/3 cup crayfish optional
- • 2 cups – 3 cups stock/ water
- • 1-tablespoon bouillon powder vegetarian, chicken (optional)
- 2-3 green onions chopped
- Salt and pepper as needed
- 1 habanero pepper or sub with hot pepper or sauce optional
Instructions
- Rinse dry black-eyed pea beans and pick through and discard any foreign object. (I did not have to do this because I used the package 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
- If using canned beans you should start from here.
- Heat oil (palm and canola) in large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Sauté the onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Add tomatoes, tomatoes paste , ginger, garlic, paprika and bouillon powder/ cubes. Cook while stirring for about 60 seconds,
- Through in the Cray fish and let it simmer, for about 10-15 minutes, add water/ stock if needed to prevent burns. Continue to cook the sauce, stirring occasionally
- Finally add the beans, green onions and the remaining stock/water and bring to a boil and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
- Adjust for seasonings, and beans consistency with water and serve.
Nutrition Information:
JClarm says
Thank you so much for this recipe. My first time making this was a slam dunk! My daughter loved it, and my neighbor had seconds when we had an impromptu dinner visit. Any advice on what to season with when you’re trying to decrease your salt intake? Thanks again for this recipe. I’ve been learning how to make African food.
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to hear it worked out well. If you can cut back on the salt .
Chandra Greer says
This was delicious. I used whole dried crawfish and smoked paprika. Because all of the ingredients are so flavorful used water not stock but was sparing with it.
Deborah Alexander says
This is the only way I truly enjoy eating black-eyed peas. Thank you for sharing this deliciousness.
Pickled Love says
It looks super healthy, I wonder whether I could roll em up into sandwiches or so
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can.
Nicole Akers says
This was so delicious! I’m so happy I was able to find red palm oil, it added flavor and color. I left out the crayfish powder to keep it vegetarian. I will definitely make it again…especially since I have a huge bottle of red palm oil to use. 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to hear it worked out well for you.Enjoy.
Anna says
Wowie, this recipe hit the spot! I didn’t have onions and it was still fantastic. I added some liquid smoke for a vegetarian friendly boost though this was so flavorful that I wonder if I even needed it. I can’t wait to make this quick, simple, and DELICIOUS recipe many more times, thank you so much for sharing it!
Michael says
Is this crayfish powder or fresh crayfish?
ImmaculateBites says
It is crayfish powder.
Alkema Jackson says
This recipe was so good. I made this as my first African for Kwanzaa food item to compliment other dishes. Omg!!!!! Thanks.
ImmaculateBites says
So glad to hear it worked out well for you. Happy New year!!
Jacques Abourbih says
AWESOME recipe!!! I gave you a 5 star rating.
Thanks.
I modified it a bit the recipe by adding two heap full tablespoons of black strap molasses. Hmmmm! Miam Miam!
Do you have a suggestion to substitute crayfish? I follow the precepts of Leviticus 11:9-10 (and other dietary restrictions in the Bible).
Isa says
I follow kosher law as well, I substitute anchovy paste if you can find it, otherwise you can even add can tuna, like many shito recipe use it also
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing.
Dennis says
how do u grill or roast plantains? i’m on a health kick as well. or trying to be.
Stella Verdoes says
By slicing it in half in a slanted way and place in the oven
Malissa Adams says
This is excellent. Made exactly to the recipe. I had country ham that I added. It is the perfect meal.
Tiffany says
I had all the ingredients except for the tomatoes so i added about a 1/4 cup or a little more of crushed tomatoes. It’s delicious!!! My husbands mom and dad are Nigerian and he loved it!
Charria says
I absolutely love this dish! I just discovered this recipe a month ago and so far I’ve made it about 3-4 times already. My husband and toddler love it too. I made it vegetarian and used a 1 tsp of liquid smoke.
Thank you!
Annabelle says
I love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times now and it’s amazing every time. I add some cayenne for extra heat. Is even better the next day! Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Donna says
I’ve just return form a trip to Ghana and fell in live with this this. I’m actually making it today for my kids to try hope they love it as much as I do
Imma says
I hope you had a great trip, Donna! That sounds great, would love an update on if they enjoyed 🙂
Alison says
This was spectacular! I used fish sauce instead of the crayfish, and also put in smoked paprika. I added swiss chard chopped up for some greens. My kid loved it too.
Thanks for the recipe!
Elfreda says
I love blackeyed peas! Got to try this with tomatoes and tomato sauce, a little rice and corn bread! Yummy good!
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks