Vegan
Gluten freeFeijão de óleo de palma
Palm oil beans
Feijão de óleo de palma: Angolan beans simmered soft in red palm oil with onion and garlic
No Saturday table in Luanda feels complete without a pot of these beans next to the funge, and the deep orange colour of the dende oil tells you they are ready. Soft, creamy beans are simmered with onion, garlic, tomato and a generous pour of red palm oil until the broth thickens and every bean is coated, earthy, faintly smoky and rich. Serve them with funge de bombó (cassava) or funge de milho, with fried plantain, or with rice and greens. Buy unrefined red palm oil from an African grocer, ideally certified sustainable; it is not the same as the pale refined kind. Chef's tip: hold back the salt and tomato until the beans are truly soft, because both firm up the skins and are the usual reason a bean pot never gets creamy.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 470 kcal
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz dried sugar beans or pinto beanssoaked overnight in cold water, drained
- 6 ¼ cups water
- ¼ cup red palm oilunrefined
- 2 onionsfinely chopped
- 4 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 ripe tomatograted, skin discarded
- 1 fresh red chilli (optional)left whole, pricked
- 1 ½ tsp salt
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Put the soaked 10 ½ oz dried sugar beans or pinto beans in a large pot with the 6 ¼ cups water and 2 bay leaves. Boil hard for 10 minutes over a high heat, skimming off the foam.
10 minStep 2: Lower to a gentle simmer, partly cover and cook until the beans are completely soft and crush to a cream against the side of the pot.
50 minStep 3: While they cook, warm the ¼ cup red palm oil in a frying pan over a low-medium heat and fry the 2 onions slowly until soft and translucent; palm oil burns easily, so keep it gentle.
10 minStep 4: Add the 4 cloves garlic and 1 ripe tomato and cook until the tomato has melted into the oil and the mixture looks glossy.
5 minStep 5: Stir the onion mixture, the 1 fresh red chilli and the 1 ½ tsp salt into the soft beans. There should be just enough liquid to cover them; boil off some or add a splash of hot water.
1 minStep 6: Simmer uncovered, stirring now and then, until the broth thickens and turns orange and the beans look coated rather than swimming. Crush a ladleful against the pot to thicken it more if you like.
14 minStep 7: Fish out the bay leaves and the whole chilli, taste for salt and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 15 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does feijão de óleo de palma take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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