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Efo riro
Yoruba spinach stew in a fried red-pepper and palm-oil base with iru and mushrooms
Efo riro, literally 'stirred greens', is the Yoruba vegetable stew cooked in homes from Ibadan to Lagos on any ordinary weekday, and eaten with pounded yam, eba or plain rice. Leafy greens are wilted into a rich base of blended peppers fried in palm oil with iru, the pungent fermented locust beans that give the dish its savoury backbone. Most families add assorted meats, stockfish and crayfish; some keep a little smoked fish on the side for those who want it. This version leans on mushrooms, iru and a touch of smoked paprika instead. Chef's tip: squeeze the blanched greens really dry before they go into the sauce; wet spinach thins the stew and washes out the flavour.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pepper base
For the stew
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Blend 2 red bell peppers (tatashe), 2 plum tomatoes, 2 scotch bonnet chillies and the chopped half of ½ red onion to a coarse paste.
Step 2: Tip into a pan and boil over a medium-high heat, stirring now and then, until most of the water has cooked off and it looks thick.
10 minStep 3: Meanwhile pour boiling water over 1 ¾ lb spinach or efo tete (African spinach) in a colander until it wilts, cool under the cold tap, then squeeze out as much water as you can by the handful.
3 minStep 4: Heat ¼ cup red palm oil in a wide pot over a medium heat until it thins. Fry the sliced half of ½ red onion with 2 tbsp iru (fermented locust beans) until the onion softens and the kitchen smells strongly savoury.
3 minStep 5: Add 9 oz chestnut or oyster mushrooms and fry until they have given up their liquid and browned at the edges.
5 minStep 6: Stir in the reduced pepper base, 1 tsp smoked paprika and ½ cup vegetable stock. Cook, stirring often, until the oil rises to the surface in red pools.
8 minStep 7: Add the squeezed greens and 1 tsp salt and stir to coat. Cook over a low heat for 3–5 minutes, just until hot through; the greens should stay dark green, not olive. A common mistake is stewing them for 20 minutes, which turns them grey and slimy.
4 minStep 8: Taste for salt and serve with pounded yam, eba or rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 270 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does efo riro take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of plum tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
- What can I use instead of red onion?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
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