Ghanaian · main

Red Red (Black-Eyed Peas with Fried Plantain)

Name: Red Red (Black-Eyed Peas with Fried Plantain)
Prep time: 1 h 47 min
Total time: 1 h 47 min
Cuisine: Ghanaian
Ingredients: black-eyed peas — 350 g; unrefined red palm oil — 110 g; red onion — 180 g; tomatoes — 400 g; tomato paste — 30 g; scotch bonnet chillies — 200 g; fresh ginger — 20 g; garlic — 9 g; smoked dried fish — 60 g; water — 800 g; salt — 10 g; plantains — 300 g; peanut oil — 230 g; gari — 60 g

Red Red (Black-Eyed Peas with Fried Plantain) reads umami 5.3, sweetness 4.6 and salinity 4.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Ghanaian main, about 1 hr 47 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 6.0 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 5.5 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.6 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 4.6 / 10
Rich & Fat — 4.6 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.3 · Sweetness 4.6 · Salinity 4.2 · Smoke 4.1 · Heat 3.9 · Allium 3.8 · Richness 3.7 · Fruity 2.9 · Nutty 2.9 · Sourness 2.4 · Earthy 2.2 · Marine & Briny 2.1 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Funk & Ferment 1.0 · Herbaceous 1.0 · Floral 1.0 · Bitterness 0.9 · Citrus 0.7

What's in it (14)

black-eyed peas — 350 g
unrefined red palm oil — 110 g
red onion — 180 g
tomatoes — 400 g
tomato paste — 30 g
scotch bonnet chillies — 200 g
fresh ginger — 20 g
garlic — 9 g
smoked dried fish — 60 g
water — 800 g
salt — 10 g
plantains — 300 g
peanut oil — 230 g
gari — 60 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 47 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 75.5 kcal, 3.3 g protein, 0.4 g fat, 15.1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Drain the soaked peas, cover them with the 800 ml water and boil hard 10 minutes.
Lower the heat and simmer 40 to 50 minutes, until the peas are tender but still holding their shape. Keep the cooking liquor.
Warm the red palm oil in a wide pan over medium heat until it just liquefies and turns clear orange, about 2 minutes, then add the onion and cook 6 to 7 minutes until slack. Do not let the palm oil smoke: overheating strips out the colour and the sweet, waxy flavour that give this dish its name. Refined palm oil will not do the job.
Add the ginger, garlic and chilli and cook 2 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and fry 3 minutes until it darkens, then add the chopped tomatoes and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until the mixture thickens and the oil separates back out at the edges.
Add the beans with 300 ml of their cooking liquor, the smoked fish and the salt, and simmer 20 minutes, until the sauce clings to the beans.
Heat the groundnut oil to 170 C and fry the plantain in batches, 3 minutes a side, until deep gold and caramelised at the edges. Drain on paper.
Serve the beans with the fried plantain alongside and a spoonful of gari over the top.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Granat Sup (Groundnut Stew with Chicken) — Sierra Leonean
Sheet Pan Shakshuka with Sausage — Middle Eastern
Kontomire Stew (Palava Sauce) — Ghanaian
Vegetarian Jambalaya — Cajun/Creole
One-Pan Turkey Taco Skillet — Tex-Mex

Keep reading: what umami, sweetness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.