The Canon

Haricots au Gras

Haricots au Grasfr

Also: Beans in Palm Oil, Black-Eyed Peas in Palm Oil

A West African (Togolese) stew of black-eyed peas slow-cooked in red palm oil with smoked fish, tomato, onion, and spices into a rich, savoury one-pot dish.

Identity criteria

  1. 1Built on black-eyed peas (cowpeas) cooked until soft
  2. 2Made 'au gras' — rich with red palm oil
  3. 3Flavoured with smoked or dried fish for depth and umami
  4. 4Carries a tomato-onion-chilli base
  5. 5An everyday, filling staple eaten with a starch

Components

Base

Black-eyed peas (cowpeas)essentialThe legume the dish is built on

Protein

Smoked or dried fishessentialCore savoury depth; this is why it differs from a plain bean stew

Aromatics

OnionessentialFoundational aromatic

Fat

Red palm oilessentialThe 'gras' — gives richness and colour

Acid

TomatoessentialBuilds the savoury-tangy base

Seasoning

Chilli / pepperoptionalAdds heat to taste

Soumbala / dawadawaoptionalFermented locust bean for added umami in some versions

Technique

Bean simmering
The peas must cook to a tender, partly creamy texture
Palm-oil enrichment
Red palm oil cooked into the stew gives the 'au gras' richness and colour
Smoked-fish layering
The dried/smoked fish infuses the pot with savoury depth

Form & serving

Served
Spooned into bowls with a starch on the side
Temperature
hot
Portion
A generous bowl as a one-dish meal
Pairs with
Rice · Gari / fried plantain · Akpan · Bread

Character

Flavour

savourysmokyumamirichmildly spicy

Texture

Soft beans in a thick, palm-oil-rich sauce flecked with flaked smoked fish

Eaten

An everyday, economical West African home meal, eaten with rice, gari, or fried plantain across Togo, Benin, and Senegal.

When

year-round

Variations & related

Regional variations

  • Togolese · Togo

    Often served with gari (fermented cassava) or fried plantain

  • Beninese · Benin

    Closely related palm-oil bean stew

  • Senegalese · Senegal

    Regional variant within the shared tradition

Related dishes

  • sibling Haricots à l'huile de palme

    The Burkinabè palm-oil bean stew built on the same concept

  • pairs-with Fried plantain

    The classic sweet-savoury accompaniment

Substitutions

  • Black-eyed peas → Other cowpeas / red beansadmissible

    Keeps the dish recognizable

  • Smoked fish → Dried fish or smoked meatadmissible

    Other smoked proteins keep the depth

  • Red palm oil → Neutral oilinadmissible

    Removes the 'gras' richness and colour that define it

Common mistakes

  • Using neutral oil instead of red palm oil, losing the 'gras' character
  • Skipping smoked/dried fish so the stew lacks its savoury backbone
  • Undercooking the beans so they stay firm
  • Letting it dry out instead of keeping a rich, saucy consistency

Provenance

A palm-oil bean stew of the West African coast and Sahel, common to Togo, Benin, and Senegal with no single claimed origin.

Shared by: Togo, Benin, Senegal

References

  1. 1.Togolese and Beninese home cooking
  2. 2.West African coastal cuisine

Confidence: high