Ekuru with pumpkin seed pestou and Scotch bonnet sauce

  • 4
  • 1 hour 20 minutes plus time for soaking the beans overnight
Not yet rated

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.

First published in 2023

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

Equipment

  • Food processor
  • Blender
  • 4 x small rectangular heat-proof moulds

Method

1

Soak the beans in the water overnight

  • 100g of peeled beans
  • 200ml of water, for soaking
2

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
3

Blitz the coriander and pumpkin seeds together in a food processor until roughly chopped. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and set aside

4

Drain the beans, then blend them with 30g of the slow-cooked onion and egusi until smooth

  • 50g of egusi, lightly toasted
5

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
6

Steam the ekuru for 45 mins. Allow to cool slightly, then remove from moulds

7

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

8

Serve the ekuru topped with the pumpkin seed pestou, and with a side of Scotch bonnet hot sauce

  • Scotch bonnet sauce to taste
First published in 2023

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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