Efo Riro

Rinse the dried cod and dried fish; soak the dried cod in water for 60 minutes, then remove the bones. Rinse the spinach, chop it finely, and set aside. Seed the red bell pepper and chili pepper, then coarsely chop them, and dice the red onion.

Place the beef tripe and beef skin in a pot, add 300 ml water, add half of the red onion, and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes. Add the dried cod, and once the tripe has softened, add the beef, smoked fish, and another 200 ml water; cook until the meat and fish are done, about 25–30 minutes. Set the meat and fish aside and reserve the stock.

Transfer the chopped bell pepper and chili pepper to a dry pot and cook down over medium heat for 15–20 minutes, until the mixture thickens and loses its raw taste.

In another pot, heat the palm oil over medium heat, add the remaining red onion, and fry until translucent. Stir in the pepper paste and fermented locust beans (iru); fry for 7 minutes, stirring often.

Add the cooked beef, tripe, beef skin, smoked fish, and dried cod. Stir in the ground dried shrimp and pour in the reserved stock, 1–2 tablespoons at a time, so the sauce stays thick. Simmer over low heat for 7 minutes.

Add the spinach and dried fish, stir gently, and cook covered over very low heat for 3–5 minutes, just until the greens wilt. Season with salt to taste and remove from heat.

Let the efo riro rest for 5 minutes and serve hot; the sauce should be thick, not watery.