West African Beans

bayoucritter aka. angela's Note:

I love this dish! My late husband was from Cameroon (fr.West Africa) He taught me to cook their dishes. When I prepare these recipes, I am thankful for having the opportunity for such a wonderful cultural experience. The more you make this dish, the better you get at it. Actually, the beans are a healthy food and very filling. You can add Meat and make this a one-dish meal. A loaf of french bread is great with it. *062910-thank you toubabou-ke member_id=1342512 for pointing out the palm oil. I do use palm oil but for confusion sake I didn't post it. Just kept it simple for other chefs:P* I have also used coconut oil.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 large onion , chopped
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ¼-½ cup olive oil (palm oil 2-3T)
• 2 cans white beans , 8oz (navy, great northern, black eye peas)
• 2 cups water
• 1 pinch salt
• cayenne pepper (to YOUR taste! The West African brand is very hot and needs less. The Spanish Cayenne is milder in t)
• 2 -3 cups white rice , cooked

Directions:

1. In skillet, add Oil, Onion, Garlic.
2. Cook on med heat, stirring often.
3. When onion is lightly browned, add Tomato Paste.
4. Stirring constantly until the Paste has'separated' and is a deep burgundy/brown color.
5. Be careful not to let burn!
6. Takes about 10-15 minutes.
7. Stir in Bean'juice'.
8. Then, add the beans, salt and 1cup of the water.
9. Let simmer about 10min.
10. Stir occasionally.
11. When mixture begins to thicken, stir in Cayenne Pepper, to taste and continue to simmer til you have a thick, velvety'sauce'.
12. Use remaining water to adjust consistency to your liking.
13. Serve over White Rice.
14. Yummy!

Reviews

[leslieanneohio]

We have an exchange student from Central West Africa. I really wanted to give him a taste of home and knew he liked beans and rice but knew there had to be some special way to prepare them. I made this recipe exactly as directed with touch of onion salt and red pepper for a bit more flavor. I served it with roast chicken (his favorite). His smile was the reward. He stated that this dish was served often with the other ingredients that I saw on other reviews...the squash etc. Thank you for blessing a young man far from home with this recipe posting.

[Crazy Shef]

This is some good stuff!! And it was very forgiving. I didn't have paste so I made up with extra sauce and only had black eyed peas on had. Also used onion and garlic powder. And it still turned out fantastic.I even got a little heavy handed with the cayenne. But the kids didn't care, they just sweat it out bowl after bowl! I can't wait to make it again and use the suggested ingredients and I'm sure it will be even better!

[toubabou-ke]

thank you, thank you! i am a returned peace corps volunteer from guinea (and senegal), west africa. while i took the time to learn some of the more "prominent" dishes (yassa poulet, attieke avec poisson frite, etc...), i failed to take into account the daily pleasures of the village fare. i've been missing these and am SO excited to have found them here! ***for added authenticity, try palm oil and a couple pierced "piments" (habaneros), if you're into that sort of thing. again...thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! FIVE STARS!!!