If you have been following my posts, you would have discovered my love for beans and bean dishes. (Read more about Beans here). I feel every household should never be without a pot of Jollof beans hidden somewhere in your freezer!
A popular way beans are cooked in Nigeria is to cook them Jollof style. This literally means cooking the beans with added tomatoes, onions, peppers, condiments and oil, all in one pot. What you get is a delicious mush of well seasoned and divinely soft beans which are not only super healthy for you, but also really very versatile and practical for a hectic lifestyle. Beans cooked this way can be eaten with a lot of other dishes such as rice, bread, plantains, yam, the list is endless.
Today, I will be serving my Jollof Beans in a sandwich, making it even more convenient to take to work for lunch or served for brunch, light dinner or an early evening meal.
Cooking beans takes quite a bit of time so the trick, as earlier mentioned, is to cook a large batch of the dish, portion into the freezer and use as desired. All it then takes is a short time in the microwave to get them back into their soft mushiness again. Check it out....
Ingredients:
What to do:
Enjoy!
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| Funke Koleosho's Mushy Beans Sandwich |
A popular way beans are cooked in Nigeria is to cook them Jollof style. This literally means cooking the beans with added tomatoes, onions, peppers, condiments and oil, all in one pot. What you get is a delicious mush of well seasoned and divinely soft beans which are not only super healthy for you, but also really very versatile and practical for a hectic lifestyle. Beans cooked this way can be eaten with a lot of other dishes such as rice, bread, plantains, yam, the list is endless.
Today, I will be serving my Jollof Beans in a sandwich, making it even more convenient to take to work for lunch or served for brunch, light dinner or an early evening meal.
Cooking beans takes quite a bit of time so the trick, as earlier mentioned, is to cook a large batch of the dish, portion into the freezer and use as desired. All it then takes is a short time in the microwave to get them back into their soft mushiness again. Check it out....
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of Nigerian Brown Beans (I prefer the Oloyin type because of its natural sweet taste, but you can use other varieties of brown beans. I do not use black eye peas for this dish.) 1 large onion (finely chop)
- 1 jar of Jollof cooking sauce (using the Jollof Cooking Sauce is a really useful short-cut.) Alternatively you can use some left over tomato & red pepper sauce or just plain chilli powder. You can also use freshly blended tomatoes, peppers and onions. Bear in mind that the richer the sauce you add to this dish, the richer the taste that you end up with)
- Salt and sugar to taste (sugar is optional)
- 100ml or 2 serving spoons of coconut oil (This dish is traditionally made with palm oil (it is GOOD!!! for you, don't believe the propaganda....(read more about palm oil here)) but because the beans will be served in a sandwich, I am using coconut oil because when palm oil is cold, its got an undesirable stickiness on the tongue...blended olive oil can also be used.)
- Sliced wholemeal bread (or any preferred bread)
- Chopped chives to garnish
- Mayonnaise for dressing (Adding mayonnaise to the beans is optional but you must trust me when I say that it transforms the taste and smoothness of the beans, plus it keeps the sandwich nice and moist until you eat it for lunch!)
What to do:
- Ensure that the beans have been picked to remove all traces of chaff, stones and other debris. Rinse in fresh water about twice.
- Pour the beans into a large pressure cooker and add enough water to cook them, about 1 litre (more or less as you prefer. Beans swell when cooked so if you want a thick dish, then use less water. Remember, you can add more water to adjust consistency later on). Also add the chopped onions and some salt.
- Cover the pressure cooker and cook beans for about 25 minutes (or until beans become just soft to the touch) If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can cook the beans in a regular pot but ensure it is tightly covered while cooking. When beans are cooked, turn off the heat and carefully open the pressure cooker.
- Add the Jollof cooking sauce to the beans and return the pressure cooker (un-covered) to the stove. Cook under low heat for about 5 minutes (you don't need more than 5 minutes because the Jollof sauce is pre-cooked. If you are using freshly blended peppers, then add to the beans in step 2). Stir well.
- Finally add the oil and stir in. You can now also add sugar using your preferred quantity (if using).
- Simmer under very low heat for another 5 - 10 minutes (trust me this process helps to develop taste further). Add hot water to adjust the consistency. Take care to avoid burning.
- Allow to cool. Scoop a little of the beans into a dish, add a squirt of mayonnaise, mix well and serve into your sandwich. (Adding mayonnaise to the beans is optional but you must trust me when I say that it transforms the taste and smoothness of the beans, plus it keeps the sandwich nice and moist until you eat it for lunch!)
Enjoy!
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| Beans Sandwich |