African Spinach Stew: Bold Nigerian Efo Riro You Cannot Stop Eating

⏱ Prep: 15 min 🔥Cook: 45 min 👤Serves: 4–6 🌍Origin: Yoruba, SW Nigeria

African spinach stew, efo riro is the Yoruba Nigerian dish that proves a vegetable stew can be the most satisfying thing on a Nigerian table. Freshly chopped spinach cooked in a rich palm oil and blended pepper base with assorted meat, stockfish, smoked prawns, ground crayfish and locust beans, layered and deeply savory in a way that bears no resemblance to any Western spinach dish. One pot. Forty-five minutes. The stew that goes with everything.

Ingredients for african spinach stew

For the meat base

• 1 lb (450g) assorted meat, beef, tripe (shaki), smoked turkey or a combination. Cook the tougher cuts first. The meat is seasoned, boiled and added back to the stew, its cooking stock becomes part of the stew base.
• 1 oz (30g) stockfish, soaked in hot water 20 minutes until pliable. Adds deep umami and body to the stew. Available at African grocery stores.
• ½ cup smoked prawns or dried shrimp, adds a sweet, smoky seafood depth. Rinse before using. Available at African grocery stores.
• 1 seasoning cube (Maggi or Knorr), crumbled
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Salt to taste

For the pepper base

• 4 large red bell peppers, roughly chopped, Roma tomatoes can replace 2 of the bell peppers. Red bell peppers are preferred over tomatoes in authentic efo riro, they produce a thicker, less acidic base that fries down properly. Tomatoes make the base too watery and acidic.
• 2–3 scotch bonnet peppers, or habanero. Adjust for heat. Blended with the bell peppers.
• 1 medium onion, half blended into the pepper base, half diced for frying

For the stew

• ¼ cup (60ml) red palm oil, the authentic fat for efo riro. Do not bleach it, heat until melted and clear but not smoking. Vegetable oil works as a substitute but produces a noticeably different flavor.
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish, the secret ingredient. Dried ground crayfish provides a specific savory, oceanic depth that is irreplaceable in Yoruba cooking. Available at African grocery stores.
• 1 tablespoon iru (locust beans), fermented locust beans, the umami backbone of efo riro. Adds a pungent, deeply savory funkiness similar to miso. Available at African grocery stores. Optional but strongly recommended, the stew is noticeably flatter without it.
• 1 additional seasoning cube
• Salt to taste

For the spinach

• 1½ lbs (680g) fresh spinach, baby spinach or regular spinach both work. Washed and roughly chopped. Do not use frozen spinach, it releases too much water and produces a watery, grey stew. If frozen is all that is available, thaw completely and squeeze bone-dry before using.
• Alternative: African efo tete (Lagos spinach) from African grocery stores produces the most authentic result and a slightly firmer texture.

Step by step

1. Cook the meat. Season the assorted meat with ½ crumbled seasoning cube, black pepper and salt. Add enough water to cover. Boil for 25–30 minutes until tender. Add the stockfish in the final 10 minutes. Reserve all the cooking stock. Set the cooked meat and stockfish aside.Do not discard the cooking stock. It is the flavor foundation of the stew, the seasoned, savory liquid that goes back into the pot later and deepens everything.
2. Blend the pepper base. Roughly chop the red bell peppers, scotch bonnets and half the onion. Blend together until a coarse, slightly chunky purée forms, not completely smooth. The texture should be pourable but still have some body. Set aside.
3. Fry the pepper base, the most important step. Heat the palm oil in a large wide pot over medium heat until melted and liquid, not smoking, not bleached. Add the diced half onion. Stir-fry for 3 minutes until golden. Add the iru (locust beans) and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the blended pepper base. Fry over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 15–20 minutes until the sauce dramatically reduces, thickens and the palm oil begins to separate and rise to the surface.This frying-down process is the critical technique in Nigerian stew cooking. The raw smell of the blended peppers must completely cook out, this takes a full 15 minutes of active stirring. Under-fried pepper base produces a raw, acidic stew. Properly fried pepper base produces a thick, sweet, deeply savory stew base.
4. Season and add proteins. Add the ground crayfish, remaining crumbled seasoning cube and salt. Stir well. Add the cooked assorted meat, stockfish and smoked prawns. Pour in enough of the reserved meat stock to loosen the stew to a thick, pourable consistency, roughly ½ cup. Stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes so the proteins absorb the stew flavor. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Add the spinach, the final step. Add the fresh spinach to the stew in handfuls, it will wilt down dramatically. Stir to coat all the spinach in the red stew base. Cook uncovered for 3–5 minutes only, long enough for the spinach to wilt and cook through but short enough to retain its color and a slight bite. Over-cooked spinach turns grey, mushy and loses its fresh vegetable character.Watch the spinach carefully. Three to five minutes at medium-high heat produces bright green, slightly firm spinach in a rich stew. Ten minutes produces grey, mushy, overcooked spinach in a diluted stew, the most common efo riro mistake.
6. Taste and serve. Remove from heat. Taste one final time, adjust salt, add more crayfish for deeper umami, add a splash more stock if the stew is too thick. Serve immediately over rice, with pounded yam, eba or semolina.

The two things that matter most

Fry the pepper base for the full 15–20 minutes until the oil separates on the surface. This is the technique that separates an authentic Nigerian stew from an under-cooked one. The oil rising to the surface is the visual confirmation that the water in the peppers has fully cooked out and the base is ready. Stop frying before the oil separates and the stew will taste raw and sour.

Add the spinach last and cook for 3–5 minutes only. Efo riro is not a long-simmered green stew. The spinach is added at the end and barely cooked, it wilts into the rich base and retains its color and texture. Longer cooking produces grey mush.

Make it ahead

Claire’s note

Efo riro is one of the best make-ahead stews in the Nigerian collection. The pepper base can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated, it actually improves as the flavors deepen. The full stew keeps refrigerated for 4 days and freezes for 3 months. One important note for meal prep: if freezing or making ahead, freeze or refrigerate without the spinach, add fresh spinach when reheating and cook for 3–5 minutes fresh. Pre-cooked spinach that has been frozen or refrigerated turns grey and mushy when reheated. Reheat the meat stew base over medium heat, add fresh spinach, cook 4 minutes. Done.

Serve with

Efo riro is traditionally served over white rice, it is one of the most beloved rice stews in Nigerian cooking. It also works beautifully with pounded yam, eba, fufu or semolina as a swallow alongside. On the full Nigerian table it sits next to jollof rice and ofe onugbu as one of the defining stews of the celebration spread. For everything else in Nigerian and West African cooking the complete Nigerian recipes collection have it all.

Add efo riro to your weekly meal planner, make a large pot Sunday and it feeds the family all week, improving with every reheating. And for more recipes, follow us on Pinterest.

African Spinach Stew (Efo Riro)

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• Author: Claire Bennett
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Diet: Gluten-Free

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Description

A rich and savory Nigerian vegetable stew made with spinach, assorted meats, and a flavorful pepper base.

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Ingredients

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• 1 lb (450g) assorted meat (beef, tripe, smoked turkey)
• 1 oz (30g) stockfish
• ½ cup smoked prawns or dried shrimp
• 1 seasoning cube (Maggi or Knorr)
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 4 large red bell peppers
• 2–3 scotch bonnet peppers
• 1 medium onion
• ¼ cup (60ml) red palm oil
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• 1 tablespoon iru (locust beans)
• 1 additional seasoning cube
• 1½ lbs (680g) fresh spinach

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Instructions

1. Cook the meat. Season assorted meat with ½ crumbled seasoning cube, black pepper, and salt. Add enough water to cover and boil for 25–30 minutes until tender. Add stockfish in the final 10 minutes. Reserve all cooking stock.
2. Blend the pepper base. Roughly chop red bell peppers, scotch bonnets, and half the onion. Blend until a coarse, chunky purée forms. Set aside.
3. Fry the pepper base. Heat palm oil in a pot over medium heat. Add diced onion and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add iru and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the blended pepper base and fry, stirring constantly, for 15–20 minutes until the sauce thickens.
4. Season and add proteins. Add ground crayfish, remaining seasoning cube, and salt. Stir well. Add cooked assorted meat, stockfish, and smoked prawns. Pour in enough reserved stock to loosen the stew and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the spinach. Add fresh spinach in handfuls, stirring to coat. Cook uncovered for 3–5 minutes until spinach wilts but retains its color.
6. Taste and serve. Adjust seasoning as needed. Serve immediately over rice or with pounded yam, eba, or semolina.

Notes

Fry the pepper base for the full 15–20 minutes until the oil separates on the surface for authentic flavor. Add spinach last and cook briefly to retain its texture.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Main Course
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Nigerian

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Calories: 350
• Sugar: 8g
• Sodium: 600mg
• Fat: 20g
• Saturated Fat: 4g
• Unsaturated Fat: 12g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 25g
• Fiber: 5g
• Protein: 25g
• Cholesterol: 80mg