Food Minia

Okay, so I made some Red Spinach Efo Riro , a really delicious, exotic and extremely nutritious vegetable dish....seriously, this is one of those dishes I have eaten that I literally feel myself getting "younger" hehehe...., that's how much overloaded the dish is with antioxidants. I now regularly eat this wonderful vegetable dish and have decided to share some pictures of how I enjoy eating it....... Serving suggestions: serve generous amounts with pounded yam, gari. plantain. boiled yam, semovita, fufu, amala, boiled rice etc Red Spinach Efo Riro with Plantain Shards Red Spinach Efo Riro with Gari Green & Red Spinach Efo Riro Red Spinach Efo Riro with Pounded Yam

Efo riro is one of the most popular vegetable dishes favoured by Nigerians particularly the Yoruba people of Western Nigeria. Its essentially made with green leafy vegetables with a combination of dried fish meat and other preferred sources of protein. The  most often used green leafy vegetable for efo riro include all varieties of amaranth greens (including tete and soko ), spinach and I have also successfully made  efo riro using kale, collard greens and other leafy vegetables available really. But I have to stress that the Yorubas prefer amaranth greens to make the most sumptuous efo riro dish, and this is because the leaves are just well suited. Red & Green Spinach (Amaranth) So having discovered Red Spinach recently through my exciting culinary adventure, it was only a matter of time that I would be cooking a different, exotic and scintillating version of the much loved efo riro ..... and I tell you its just divine. Method : so the same exact method and ingredient...

I love exploring new things, new food ingredients, new techniques, and such and such.....that is just the way I am....! I eat plantains regularly, not only because they represent one of the most staple sources of carbohydrates in Nigerian cooking, but also because they are versatile to use in different dishes, are extremely delicious and most importantly, they are a healthy source of slow release energy. I have so many plantain recipes ( check them out here ), and I continue to explore new ones to suit my taste, preference, mood etcetera. So in this recipe, quite simply, I cut plantains in the form of shards and deep fry them. I always fry my plantains with my oil of choice, coconut oil. I imagine you can cook the plantain shards by roasting, baking or boiling..... You are sure to achieve an equally fantastic dish. Plantains as I said earlier, are very versatile to serve with a range of different soups/stews or other dishes like pottages and hotpots. Well, after having discovered the ...

So now that I have discovered the goodness of Red Spinach.....I went to work on how best to put it to use and to start getting all the goodness it offers. Read more about Red Spinach here Red spinach is loosely called that, but really it is red amaranths, and thus can be used, cooked and eaten in similar ways. The first red spinach recipe am sharing with you is the Red Spinach Seafood Pepper Soup I could literally feel my age drop as I ate this soup, each table spoon added days to my year......really, really hehehe. This is because it is so intense in its colour, taste and flavour. And because I know that the brilliant colour of the soup is an indication of the richness and goodness of the soup....its packed full of minerals and vitamins vital to good health and for fighting signs of aging..! Whereas people tend to discard the some-worth dark coloured water created by cooking green amaranth, on the other hand, the deep coloured water created by cooking red amaranth is priceless in its ...

In Nigeria, we are all aware of the amaranth greens, locally called tete . Green tete is the most common one, found/sold  in every vegetable market and loosely referred to as greens or spinach. Read more about Amaranth Greens here . The other day, I went to get some fresh seafood at the Under-bridge Fish Market, just off Ozumba Mbadiwe road in Victoria Island Lagos, and I was delighted to see red spinach on display. But before actually seeing and cooking with them, I had read a lot about them online in the past. I discovered that they are one of the super foods coming out of Africa! So finally, I was able to purchase some and experiment with them. I blanched them and cooked them just like the more familiar green variety and I was really pleased with eating them. They tasted just the same, that you could not tell the different in taste and flavour, other than, the red variety was a tad more earthy. So why Red Spinach.....? My first response is why not...? They are available and they...