The Famous Ewa Agoyin!!! ...... not like I still got the pronunciation right.

Would you think I'm weird if i tell you this is my first attempt eating this? Well, I grew up in the"fishy" city of PortHarcourt Rivers State and I never thought that was a thing until I met up with some Lagos folks. Anyways I figured the recipe was really easy to put together so I jumped on it and it turned out to be the best EWA AGOYIN you'd ever have until you cook yours :).

Total cooking time.

Prep time - 15 mins
Cooking time - 2 hours 30mins.

Ewa Agoyin with a side of fried Plantain

You'd wonder why I created the letter "A" using plantains. Well, I had some great friends that graduated summa cum laude (1st class using the Nigerian scoring system) so I thought they deserved it!! hahahaha.

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces of Goya Black eyed peas (2 cups of beans )
• A bulb of onion finely chopped(for the beans)
• one cup of palm oil 
• one stock cube
• one cup of dried blended crayfish/shrimps
• 1 Tbsp of salt 
• 2 tins of tomato paste
• one large red and yellow bell pepper (you'd need a little for garnishing)
• 4 -5 Habanero pepper
• one small onion (for the sauce)
• 3 plantains

Ps: Scoop the tomato paste into a small pot and add half cup of water to boil. (This method eliminates the sour taste).

Also boil the blended mixture to remove excess water.

Cooking Directions:

• Add 5 cups of water into a pot and set on medium heat. Wash and add the beans. Allow to boil on medium heat for 30mins and then pour into a colander to rinse off the brown coloring (My mom once told me that's the reason you purge after eating beans). Pour another 3 cups of water into the pot and place back on the stove. Pour the rinsed off beans into the pot (add some chopped onions to cook faster) and then cook for another hour 30 mins or until the beans is soft. 
  

Your beans should look like this after cooking : you can still mash it if you desire

• Do not add salt until the beans starts to soften else it would take longer to cook. (you are welcome)

• In a blender, combine the roughly chopped bell pepper, habanero and small onion and blend until finely smooth.
• Set a medium sized pot on a low heat and add palm oil. bleach the oil for about 10 - 15 mins.(Be careful to open up your windows or turn on the vent to avoid the fire alarm going off).
• While the oil is bleached, turn on your heat to medium and add the finely chopped onion and stir at intervals (between 10 - 15mins).
• Add the parboiled mixture and the steamed tomato paste and cook for about 10mins.
• Add crayfish, salt and stock cube.
• Taste for seasoning
• Cook on medium heat for about 10 mins 
• Your sauce is ready to be served on your beans.

Serve your Ewa Agoyin and enjoy!!! You can also pause and wait for a minute if you want the side of plantain :)

Fried plantains:

Ingredients:

• 2 plantains 
• Vegetable oil 
• Salt to taste

Directions

Note - Oil:  The amount of oil used for frying should be just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Too much oil will cause the plantains to soak up the oil resulting in soggy plantains dripping oil.

Heat: use medium heat to fry the plantains. If you don't, your plantains can be burned in no time or brown too quickly.

• Slice your plantains and add salt to taste. Place the pan on a medium heat and add vegetable oil, allow to heat for 15 mins  and then you can gently toss your sliced plantains into the heated oil. Once the bottom is golden brown, you can flip the other side to fry. 
• Once both sides are golden brown, take out the plantains and place in a sieve to drain off excess oil. 
• Now you can make the letter "A" or the first alphabet of your best friend/husband/ special person and serve!

For your catering services, you can reach me through @dishesbyq@gmail.com

Follow my Instagram @dishes_by_q

Food quotes: One cannot think well, sleep well, love well if one has not dined well.

                                                                                                                                    Virginia Woolf

Kitchen Hygiene:

• Wear a clean apron
• Wear closed -in shoes to protect your feet from kitchen accidents
• Always wash your hands before ad after handling food!!! 
• Keep food prep surfaces clean
• Cover your hair /wear gloves where needed 

"You are what you eat" :).... Have a "wonderfood" day