Frejon (Nigerian coconut milk and black-eyed pea dish)

Lagos coconut milk and black-eyed pea dish, traditionally eaten on Good Friday by Catholic communities in Nigeria

Origin: Lagos, Nigeria (West Africa)

From the journey of Coconut.

Frejon is a purée of beans cooked in coconut milk, sweetened a little and spiced with cinnamon or cloves, and it is the Good Friday dish of Lagos, eaten by the city's Catholic families on the one day of the year when meat, and for many families dairy too, is set aside. It is served with fish stew, with the coarse, sour garri of Ijebu, or with fried plantain. The dish came to Lagos from Brazil. Its name is the Portuguese feijão, beans, and it was brought by the Aguda, freed Africans and their descendants, many of them Yoruba, who returned from Brazil in the nineteenth century and settled on Lagos Island in what is still called the Brazilian Quarter. They brought Portuguese Catholicism, Brazilian building styles, and Brazilian food, and Aguda, the Yoruba word for a Catholic, became their name. Frejon keeps both halves of that history: a Brazilian bean dish, made with the coconut milk of the West African coast and with the cowpea, the pulse that West Africa domesticated for itself. The beans are the cowpeas of the Lagos market, usually the small brown honey beans called ewa oloyin or black-eyed peas, and some families use black beans, as Brazil would. They are cooked until they fall apart, then worked through a sieve or blended with the coconut milk until smooth, and simmered until the purée is thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.

Ingredients

Beans

  • 400 g dried brown honey beans (ewa oloyin) or black-eyed peas, soaked in cold water overnight and drained (or two 400 g cans of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed)

Coconut

  • 800 ml full-fat coconut milk (two 400 ml cans)

Sweetener

  • 100 g caster sugar (or to taste)

Spice

  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

Flavouring

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Seasoning

  • 0.5 tsp salt

Serving

  • 2 piece ripe plantains, sliced and fried in oil until golden, to serve alongside

Method

  1. If using dried black-eyed peas: drain the soaked peas and place in a large saucepan. Cover with fresh cold water by at least 5 cm. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 60–70 minutes until very tender. Drain thoroughly.
  2. Return the cooked (or canned) beans to the saucepan. Add the coconut milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg (if using), vanilla (if using), and salt. Stir to combine.
  3. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring regularly, for 20–25 minutes until the coconut milk has reduced slightly and thickened, coating the beans in a fragrant, creamy sauce.
  4. For a traditional smooth frejon: use a potato masher or immersion blender to partially or fully puree the beans directly in the coconut milk, producing a thick, pudding-like consistency. For a whole-bean version, skip this step.
  5. Taste and adjust sweetness and cinnamon. The dish should be sweet, warmly spiced, and richly coconutty. Serve warm in bowls alongside fried ripe plantain slices.

Notes

Frejon keeps well refrigerated for 3 to 4 days and reheats beautifully with a splash of coconut milk to loosen it. The cinnamon can be increased for a spicier, more aromatic version, and some Lagos families use whole cloves instead. On Good Friday frejon is the centre of the meal, eaten without meat, with fish stew and garri or with fried plantain.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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