Authentic Efo Riro Recipe (Nigerian Spinach Stew)

Valentine was the reason for this bowl of delicious Efo Riro (Nigerian spinach stew)! Love languages are a thing, in any relationship. I am not big on the celebration of Valentine’s, but I do try to take out time to do something special for my family.

This year, I was keen on remaining in my comfort zone by sticking to my love language – cooking something special. So, I texted hubby while he was at work to ask what he will like me to make for him, and he requested Nigerian spinach stew (efo riro) and Eba (dried grated cassava).

More Nigerian soup recipes? Check out:

• How to Cook Delicious Nigerian Egusi Soup
• How to Make Sumptuous Ogbono Soup (Wild Mango Seed Stew)How to Cook Edikang Ikong Soup (Southern Nigerian Collard Greens)

What is Efo Riro?

Efo Riro is a popular spinach stew enjoyed mostly in the South-Western part of Nigeria by the Yorubas. It is essentially spinach cooked in a thick, rich and highly flavorful palm oil pepper sauce which serves as a base.

The stew is packed-full with meats, dried fish and shrimp all fried to perfection. It is a dish that is usually paired with either rice or swallow, but can also be eaten alone.

Pair your Nigerian spinach stew with Easy Sadza Recipe | Ugali | African Cornmeal

Ingredients for Efo Riro Recipe?

Most of the ingredients for this dish can be sourced locally at your nearest African store. Here are some ingredients needed to make this:

Chopped Spinach

Fresh spinach can be found in any regular grocery store. The Yorubas use a slightly different spinach than is found at our grocery stores called shoko. The spinach is chopped up, rinsed and drained.

Pepper Mix

A roughly blended combination of 4-5 red bell peppers, 2 scotch bonnets (depending on your preferred level of spice) and an onion make up the pepper base.

Palm Oil

Palm oil aka red oil is the type of fat used to fry the pepper sauce.

Locust Beans

These tiny beans serves as a key part make of the stew. It does not have the best smell but certainly introduces an umami flavour into the dish. This is optional.

Protein

This stew is enriched with tons of protein. The proteins include deboned dried fish, ground crayfish, shrimp, and a variety of meats (beef, goat meat, snails, cow skin, fish etc.). I used smoked turkey and tripe in this recipe.

Broth

I skipped this in today’s recipe since I used smoked turkey as my protein. You would normally add about a 1/2 cup into the pepper base and let it fry till reduced.

This stew can be tweaked in many ways; from adding your choice of protein to skipping any ingredients you feel you might not like. If you are a big fan of vegetable stews and soups, you should check out Edikang Ikong as well, a healthy and similarly delicious pot of stew.

Otherwise, how about trying out the famous West African red stew.

Authentic Efo Riro Recipe

Efo Riro is one of the popular dishes in Nigeria. It is freshly chopped spinach cooked in a rich palm oil stew garnished with various proteins such as beef, tripe, shrimp etc.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 39 minutes mins

Servings 3

Ingredients

  

• 2 lbs smoked turkey cut-up
• 2 lbs beef tripe cooked
• 1.5 lbs chopped spinach rinsed and drained
• 4 red bell peppers
• 2-3 scotch bonnets
• 1 small onion
• 2 tbsp locust beans optional
• 1 large dried catfish deboned and rinsed
• 1/4 cup Palm oil
• 2 tbsp ground crayfish
• 3 bouillon cubes
• Salt to taste

Instructions

 

• Use a blender or food processor to roughly blend the red bell peppers, scotch bonnets and onion.
• In a large pot or deep pan, heat up the palm oil.
• Toss in your locust beans and let it fry for 2 minutes making sure to stir so it doesn’t burn.
• Go in with the pepper mix, let it fry for 10 minutes on medium heat.
• Add in the smoked turkey and let it cook in the pepper sauce for 12 minutes.
• Season the sauce with bouillon cubes and salt before adding in the dried deboned catfish and cooked tripe. Cover and let this continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
• Add in the spinach, and combine until it is completely immersed in the pepper sauce, cover and leave to cook for 5-7 minutes.
• Taste and adjust seasoning if needed before turning off the heat.
• Enjoy this on its own, with swallow or with a bowl of white rice.

Notes

Tips

1. It is important that you refrain from overcooking the spinach, 5-10 minutes of cooking time is enough, this is so your spinach does not lose its nutrients and colour.
2. If you decide to stick to smoked turkey, add it into the sauce early enough so it releases most of its saltiness into the pepper sauce before you add salt. Thank me later!