Kosua ne Meko (Eggs With Pepper Relish)

By Yewande Komolafe

Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Time
35 minutes
Rating
4 (138)
Notes
Read community notes

A hard-boiled egg split slightly down the middle and stuffed with a chunky tomato relish, kosua ne meko is a quick Ghanaian snack sold by street vendors. Classic versions include hard-boiled eggs that have been cured by dredging them shell-on through dampened salt a day before. The relish, referred to as “raw pepper,” can taste different depending on the vendor, but it always has crushed tomatoes, red onions and chiles. For home cooks, this can be a simple dish made quickly (or ahead) to share broadly — at the beach, a picnic, an afternoon cocktail party or a potluck brunch. An asanka, a small mortar and pestle with a rough interior, is used to prepare the raw pepper, but a food processor can also step in. Simply salting the egg before adding the relish, or after, can at least hint at the salt-dredging technique.

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Ingredients

Yield: 12 eggs
  • ¼ to 1 whole red Scotch bonnet chile, stem and seeds removed
  • 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, scrubbed and roughly chopped
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Salt
  • ½ small red onion (about 3 ounces), or 2 small shallots
  • 1 small ripe plum tomato (about 3 ounces), seeds removed, roughly chopped
  • 1 dozen boiled eggs , peeled
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

71 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 5 grams protein; 144 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In the bowl of an asanka (or in a mortar with a rough finish inside the bowl), combine the Scotch bonnet, ginger, garlic and a pinch of salt, and crush to a rough paste, 1 minute.

  2. Step 2

    Cut the onion half in half: Thinly slice one quarter and reserve. Roughly chop the remaining quarter and add to the asanka (or mortar). Crush into the chile paste, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and crush using the mortar. Salt the relish to taste. Stir in the sliced onions. You should have about 1 cup of the relish. (Alternatively, use a food processor to pulse the chile, ginger and garlic until coarsely chopped. Add the onion quarter or shallot, and chop. Add the tomato pieces and chop. Season with salt and stir in the sliced onions.)

  3. Step 3

    Slice along the length of each egg, just enough to open it up but without cutting all the way through. Season the insides with a pinch of salt. Carefully stuff each egg with about 1 tablespoon spicy relish. Arrange the eggs on a plate or serving platter, and serve immediately.

Tip
  • To serve later, refrigerate the peeled eggs and the relish in separate sealed containers and make to order. You can also top the eggs with the relish and store refrigerated in a tightly sealed container until ready to eat. Store refrigerated for up to 48 hours.

Ratings

4 out of 5
138 user ratings
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