Name: West African Beans
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 large onion, chopped; 1 garlic clove, minced; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1/4-1/2 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

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Recipe by bayoucritter aka. a

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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.

Ready In:: 45mins
Serves:
Units:

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ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¹⁄₄ - ¹⁄₂ 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

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

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RECIPE MADE WITH LOVE BY

@bayoucritter aka. a

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@bayoucritter aka. a

Contributor

"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."

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review by Tana Kidad

9/3/2015

Love it. Didn't change a thing in the instructions...

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review by Cascadia

8/21/2014

My roomie and I are on a very tight budget right now so I've been looking around for recipes to use the dried beans we have in our pantry. I'd never had any kind of African food before, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this. It was really good! So good that, after I'm done eating this bowl, I'm going to use the rest of the beans I cooked for a second batch for the freezer. Because I wasn't using canned beans, I had to use a little more salt than I anticipated, and I skimmed some of the water off the beans as they were cooking instead of using the canned "juice". Turned out great and was delicious with basmati rice!

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review by MsMargo

12/8/2013

I have died and gone to heaven lickin the pot.. I used 1 cup of water and that was enough consistency for me. I used 100% Coconut oil as that is the oil I had. I used more garlic and northern beans. I have to tell you I really did lick my plate.. Thank you so much Angela..

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review by TXmex

8/20/2013

Amazing! This is going to be a staple at our house it was so delicious.

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review by leslieanneohio

6/26/2010

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.

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