Red Red is Ghana's beloved black-eyed pea (or cowpea) stew cooked in red palm oil with tomato, onion, and pepper, served beside sweet fried plantain (kelewele or plain). A complete plant-protein-plus-starch plate.
Red Red is street food and home food across Accra and beyond — cheap, filling, and beloved. Its cowpea is the literal ancestor of the black-eyed peas eaten at every Black American New Year's for luck.
Black-eyed peas (cowpeas) are a high-fiber, high-folate, low-fat plant protein whose soluble fiber lowers LDL cholesterol and steadies blood sugar — directly protective against the heart disease and type 2 diabetes that hit Black Americans hardest. The red palm oil adds beta-carotene and vitamin E. Plantain contributes resistant starch and potassium. Together, Red Red is one of the most metabolically sound traditional plates in the West African repertoire — the same cowpea that became the Hoppin' John and field-pea tradition of the American South.
Cook black-eyed peas until soft. In red palm oil, fry onion, tomato, ginger, and pepper into a stew base; fold in the beans and simmer. Serve with ripe plantain fried in a separate pan, often with gari sprinkled on top.
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