Steamed Moin Moin with Peppers and Boiled Egg

⏱ 90 min · Serves 6

Silky, savoury steamed bean pudding made from peeled black-eyed peas, blitzed smooth with roasted red pepper, onion and scotch bonnet, then steamed in foil parcels until set and fragrant. Soft as custard, deeply satisfying, and brilliant alongside jollof rice or eaten on its own with a cold drink.

Per serving: 432 kcal · 19.5g protein · 40.0g carbs · 22.0g fat

Ingredients

• 400g dried black-eyed peas (or 350g pre-peeled bean flour, see step 1)
• 1 large red bell pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
• 1 scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded for less heat
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 100ml vegetable or groundnut oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1 stock cube (chicken or vegetable), crumbled
• 1 tsp ground crayfish or 1 tsp smoked paprika (for a vegan version)
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 250-350ml warm water
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
• 6 large squares of foil, or 6 ramekins

Method

1. Soak the black-eyed peas in plenty of cold water for 15 minutes, then rub them vigorously between your palms to loosen the skins. Rinse and pour off the floating skins, repeating until the beans are clean and white. Drain well.
2. Blend the peeled beans with the red pepper, onion, scotch bonnet and 250ml warm water until completely smooth — this can take 3-4 minutes in a decent blender. The batter should be thick but pourable, like double cream; add a splash more water if needed.
3. Scrape into a large bowl and beat in the tomato puree, oil, crumbled stock cube, ground crayfish and salt. Whisk hard for a minute to aerate — this gives moin moin its light texture. Taste the raw batter for seasoning; it should be boldly salty.
4. Grease the foil squares or ramekins lightly with oil. If using foil, fold each square into a cone or cup shape, or line a ramekin with it.
5. Fill each parcel or ramekin two-thirds full, tuck a quarter of boiled egg into each, then fold the foil over to seal loosely (leave room to rise).
6. Sit the parcels upright in a large pot over 3-4cm of simmering water, cover tightly and steam for 45-55 minutes, topping up the water as needed.
7. Test with a skewer — it should come out clean and the pudding should feel firm and springy. Rest 5 minutes, then unwrap and serve warm with jollof rice, pap, or simply on its own.