GT Food Talk: Frejon For Catholics Who Don’t Eat Meat On Good Friday
Easter is just around the corner. If you are the type who abstains from eating meat during the Holy week especially on Good Friday, we have suggested an alternative dish that you can enjoy on this day.
The dish is called Frejon. Frejon is a coconut milk and bean soup/pudding that is perfect for Good Friday. Frejon is somewhere between a pudding and a soup.
Frejon is usually eaten by a selection of Christians mostly by Catholics across the world during the Holy Week. Since this set of Christians are strictly forbidden from eating dairy food and meat on Good Friday, this protein delicacy is an alternative dish as it is often served with fish stew or peppered snail and garri. But you should ensure that the garri is very dry.
Frejon is originally a Brazilian dish that was made popular in Nigeria by Yoruba returnees from Brazil who settled in Lagos Island. It is also eaten in Portugal and Sierra Leone.
So, if you have never tried it before, now is a good time to do so.
Ingredients
2 Cups Beans
200ml coconut milk
Sugar to taste
250ml of water
Salt to taste
Garri (to thicken)
For Fish stew
4 large tomatoes
2 large tatashe (bell peppers)
5 atarodo (scotch bonnet pepper)
2 cooking spoons of vegetable oil
2 medium-sized fresh fish (Croaker)
2 medium onions
Seasoning cubes
Thyme
Curry
Salt to taste
Method
- Pick beans to remove dirts, weevils and stones.
- Add beans to a pot, add enough water to cover beans completely. Do not add salt or onions. Cook till very soft.
- Once the beans are soft and mushy, drain the extra liquid with a sieve and set aside and allow to cool.
- Transfer your beans into a blender, add half of the coconut milk and blend till it becomes a smooth paste. Pour the coconut bean mixture through a fine mesh sieve to get a smooth consistency. If the mixture is too thick to go pass through the sieve, gradually stir it through using a spoon.
- Transfer beans into pot, stir in the remaining coconut milk and let it cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
- Add sugar and salt to your taste. Stir and let it cook for another 5 minutes till it starts to thicken. You should not cover the pot at this stage. Once it starts to thicken, continue to stir to avoid forming lumps or getting burnt.
- When the soup reaches your desired consistency, set it aside and serve with fish stew and dry garri.
Fish stew
- Cut and clean the croaker fish.
- Blend the tomatoes, peppers and onions and set aside. Pour the blended mixture into a pot and let it boil down and become thicker for about 20 minutes.
- Heat up vegetable oil; add some diced onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Then pour in the boiled mixture, stir and cook on medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Add thyme, curry, seasoning cubes and salt to taste.
- Add the cleaned fish and carefully tilt the pot from left to right to avoid the fish from breaking.
- Cover and leave to simmer on medium heat for 10 -15 minutes until the fish is properly cooked
- Serve Frejon with fish stew and enjoy.
Note: The quantity of ingredients you need, depends on the number of people you’re preparing it for.
Wishing everyone a happy Easter!
