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Photo: Brittany Conerly
Active Time:30 minsTotal Time:1 hr 30 minsServings:4Jump to Nutrition Facts
Active Time:30 minsTotal Time:1 hr 30 minsServings:4
Active Time:30 mins
Active Time:
30 mins
Total Time:1 hr 30 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Servings:4
Servings:
4
Jump to Nutrition Facts
Jump to recipe
The Revolutionary Act of Cooking with Red Palm Oil
Every culture has a celebrated bean or pulse dish—an everyday staple that is nourishing, affordable and easy to cook in large or small quantities. I would suggest that Red Red, a simple black-eyed pea stew, cooked with plenty of palm oil, onions and tomatoes, is that dish for Ghana.
An aunt told me the double red in the name comes from the crimson red palm oil, intrinsic to the dish’s flavor profile, and the style of plantain served with it—also fried in red palm oil. Another aunt insists it’s red twice because of the oil and tomato. Either way, the name makes sense. It’s Red and Red. Red Red. It’s worth saying twice, it’s that delicious.
And it’s impossible to discuss Red Red without talking about its primo ingredient: red palm oil, called zomi in Ghana.
Believe it or not, when I started writing my cookbookZoe’s Ghana Kitchenin 2014, the predominantly White publishing industry and food media was obsessed with critiquing this particular ingredient with well-intentioned sustainability concerns. It felt important, brave, if you will, for me to insist upon the inclusion of the ingredient red palm oil in recipes like Red Red and to defend our cultural use of it.
It was a relief to know that my small insistence meant something to early diasporic readers of the cookbook. I recall when Yewande Kamolafe, among many others, thanked me through my DMs for finding strength in disrupting the narrative around red palm. Some years later Kamolafe went on to writean excellent piece for Mediumon red palm oil, which integrated the many well-intentioned but ill-leveled criticisms on the issue:
“If you are concerned about issues within our food system—exploitation of labor, land rights, water rights, deforestation, habitat destruction, to name just a few—the production of the palm oil primarily consumed outside of West Africainvolves all of these. If you’ve interacted with media reports about palm oil, you’ve likely encounteredfacts,opinions,culpability,concessions,convenient omissions, andwell-intentioned corporate doublespeak, often all at once,” Kamolafe writes.
Red palm oil is the product of the oil palm tree, which is indigenous to Western and Central Africa. It’s a pantry staple for myself and most West Africans, giving dishes cooked with it a singular earthy, floral, smoky flavor and deep orange or crimson red coloring (depending on the variety of palm fruit).
For centuries, red palm oil has been farmed locally, organically and sustainably on small farms across West and Central Africa and Asia for both culinary and medicinal use.Researchshows its unrefined form is packed with antioxidants like beta carotene, which promotes good vision and boosts immunity, and vitamin E, which helps protect your cells from oxidative damage. It can also help control blood pressure and is a good source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
As Kamolafe points out in her piece for Medium, “Extracting the oil typically requires industrial processes that go beyond most traditional West African culinary practices.” This is an essential distinction that highlights how West Africans should not be made complicit in the destructive profit motives of multinational corporations whose poor practices in the farming of white palm oil have created swathes of deforestation and ecological destruction including displacement of indigenous species, such as orangutans.
Red palm oil is delicious. It’s a beautiful, unique ingredient that is irreplaceable. There is no other oil that tastes like it! It is inherent to this dish, and so I urge you to do any extra legwork to source it responsibly through African-ownedsustainable red palm oilbrands. Seek it out, then fall in love with this unique profile which will revolutionize your pantry.
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients1cupdried black-eyed peasor1 15-ounce can no-salt-added black-eyed peas, rinsed5tablespoonsred palm oil1mediumred onion, finely diced1(1 inch) pieceginger, finely grated1 ½teaspoonscrushed red pepper½red Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and diced½teaspoonchili powder½teaspooncurry powder1(15 ounce) candiced tomatoes1tablespoontomato paste½teaspoonfresh ground alligator pepper (see Note)orground black pepper½teaspoonsalt
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
1cupdried black-eyed peasor1 15-ounce can no-salt-added black-eyed peas, rinsed
5tablespoonsred palm oil
1mediumred onion, finely diced
1(1 inch) pieceginger, finely grated
1 ½teaspoonscrushed red pepper
½red Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and diced
½teaspoonchili powder
½teaspooncurry powder
1(15 ounce) candiced tomatoes
1tablespoontomato paste
½teaspoonfresh ground alligator pepper (see Note)orground black pepper
½teaspoonsalt
DirectionsIf using dried beans, bring 6 cups water, black-eyed peas and 1 teaspoon salt (optional) to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour. Drain.Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, ginger, crushed red pepper and Scotch bonnet; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in chili powder and curry powder. Add tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste, pepper and salt; stir to combine. Cook at a bare simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to break down, about 30 minutes.Add the drained (or rinsed canned) beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, 45 minutes to 1 hour.NoteAlligator pepper, aka grains of paradise, is native to West Africa and related to cardamom. It has a strong, peppery flavor with hints of citrus. Look for it at African markets oronline.Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, February 2023
Directions
If using dried beans, bring 6 cups water, black-eyed peas and 1 teaspoon salt (optional) to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour. Drain.Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, ginger, crushed red pepper and Scotch bonnet; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in chili powder and curry powder. Add tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste, pepper and salt; stir to combine. Cook at a bare simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to break down, about 30 minutes.Add the drained (or rinsed canned) beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, 45 minutes to 1 hour.NoteAlligator pepper, aka grains of paradise, is native to West Africa and related to cardamom. It has a strong, peppery flavor with hints of citrus. Look for it at African markets oronline.
If using dried beans, bring 6 cups water, black-eyed peas and 1 teaspoon salt (optional) to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour. Drain.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, ginger, crushed red pepper and Scotch bonnet; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in chili powder and curry powder. Add tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste, pepper and salt; stir to combine. Cook at a bare simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to break down, about 30 minutes.
Add the drained (or rinsed canned) beans. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Note
Alligator pepper, aka grains of paradise, is native to West Africa and related to cardamom. It has a strong, peppery flavor with hints of citrus. Look for it at African markets oronline.
Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, February 2023
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Nutrition Facts(per serving)323Calories18gFat33gCarbs10gProtein
Nutrition Facts(per serving)
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.
