Ekuru with pumpkin seed pestou and Scotch bonnet sauce
Ekuru is a comforting Yoruban staple food made from peeled black-eyed beans. Here Joké Bakare serves it with a quick pumpkin seed pestou and a generous amount of fiery Scotch bonnet hot sauce. The pumpkin seed pestou would also be delicious over grilled fish, soups or plain rice.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Ekuru
- 100g of peeled beans
- 200ml of water, for soaking
- 50g of egusi, lightly toasted
- 60g of vegetable oil
- 50g of vegetable stock
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp of Penja pepper, ground
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Scotch bonnet sauce to taste
Confit onions
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- vegetable oil
Pumpkin pestou
- 80g of coriander
- 200g of pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 60ml of vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 10g of nutritional yeast
- 1 bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 20g of preserved lemon, rind only, diced
- 1 tbsp of onion granules
- 10ml of lemon juice
Equipment
- Food processor
- Blender
- 4 x small rectangular heat-proof moulds
Method
Soak the beans in the water overnight
- 100g of peeled beans
- 200ml of water, for soaking
The next day, add the onions to a pan, and cover with vegetable oil. Cook very slowly over a low heat for 1 hour
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- vegetable oil
Blitz the coriander and pumpkin seeds together in a food processor until roughly chopped. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and set aside
- 80g of coriander
- 200g of pumpkin seeds, toasted
- 60ml of vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 10g of nutritional yeast
- 1 bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 20g of preserved lemon, rind only, diced
- 1 tbsp of onion granules
- 10ml of lemon juice
Drain the beans, then blend them with 30g of the slow-cooked onion and egusi until smooth
- 50g of egusi, lightly toasted
Mix the beans with the vegetable oil, stock, salt, Penja pepper and baking powder. Whisk for 5 minutes to aerate it. Pour into 4 small greased and lined, rectangular heat-proof moulds
- 60g of vegetable oil
- 50g of vegetable stock
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp of Penja pepper, ground
- 1 tsp baking powder
Steam the ekuru for 45 mins. Allow to cool slightly, then remove from moulds
When ready to serve, heat up a little bit of vegetable oil in a pan and fry the ekuru on all sides so that it's nice and crispy
Serve the ekuru topped with the pumpkin seed pestou, and with a side of Scotch bonnet hot sauce
- Scotch bonnet sauce to taste
Nigerian-born Adejoké Bakare made the transition from avid home cook to restaurant owner in a matter of months when she won the Brixton Kitchen competition in 2019 and opened the first iteration of Chishuru. Since then, she’s fast built a reputation as one of London’s boldest chefs thanks to her unique style of West African cookery, influenced by the contrasting food traditions of her parents, and has been rewarded with a Michelin star at Chishuru.
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