APEX Legacy · a way of life

Ewa Riro

Whole honey beans cooked soft then stirred ('riro' means to stir) into a peppered palm-oil stew with onions, tomatoes, and crayfish — a heartier, chunkier cousin to ewa agoyin eaten on its own or with plantain.

Compiled by APEX Legacy from published research and documented food history, under the editorial direction of Jonathan Jackson, Founder. How we write and review these pages →

Why it is ours

Ewa riro is everyday home cooking — the pot a Yoruba mother keeps going for a family meal. It is comfort and thrift, beans stretched into a full dinner. That same instinct — beans as the dignified center of a working family's plate — is the spine of Black Southern cooking from Hoppin' John to a pot of pintos.

What it does

Whole beans retain their hulls, maximizing insoluble fiber and resistant starch for gut and glucose health. The tomato-pepper base adds lycopene and vitamin C, which improves absorption of the non-heme iron in the beans — a meaningful pairing for iron-deficiency anemia common in Black women.

How it is cooked

Cook honey beans until soft, reserving liquid. In a separate pot fry blended pepper, tomato, and onion in palm oil, add crayfish and iru, then fold in the beans and a little cooking liquid. Simmer until thick. Season modestly.

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