Ghana, Red Red Dish

When I read this recipe it reminded me of a dish that my grandma used to make. It was a salad with iceberg lettuce, mayonnaise, and bananas. Sounds gross right? It's actually pretty delicious. So I thought I'd give this one a try. It's called Red Red Dish (I think) and its from Ghana. They actually use plantains and they probably pick them fresh. I was close though, I bought a pack of bananas from Target today, despite having banana trees right outside of my office.

Anyway... From what I've read and tried to cook, it seems like African cuisine consists of a lot of stews. I have no clue though. This dish was more like a stew. I'm sure if I made it with fresh tomatoes and not canned it would have had a whole different flavor. It was still good. Better than I thought. Funny that I'm explaining this meal and if you haven't clicked on the recipe you're probably thinking, "what? bananas? tomatoes? stew?" Maybe I should figure out another system for these blogs. Oh if only I had time. Anyway... Here goes! Enjoy!

Red Red Dish
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon expeller-pressed canola oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 firm bananas, halved lengthwise and cut into chunks

Directions:

Heat oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook about 10 minutes or until golden and tender, stirring frequently. Stir in garlic, ginger and cayenne and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and peas and bring to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes or until peas are tender and flavors blended. Stir in salt.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a separate skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, add bananas and cook about 5 minutes or until browned on both sides, gently flipping halfway through cooking. Serve alongside black-eyed peas in a shallow bowl.