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Prep time
5 minutes
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Cook time
30 minutes
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Serves
4
Author Notes
Growing up in Nigeria, my mother often cooked us yams and eggs for breakfast—but it's also perfect for dinner. Enjoy as-is for a vegetarian main dish, or make it a bit more hearty by serving with avocado, cooked bacon, or even sliced hot dogs.
Boiled yam is a West African staple served alongside with spiced scrambled eggs, fried stew, palm oil, or eggplant sauce. They’re also enjoyed in many other parts of the world, including the Caribbean.
This recipe uses white yams (also known as West African yams), which have a tough brown skin and white flesh that’s starchy rather than sweet, so they cook up soft and fluffy. If you can’t find them at your regular grocery store, try a specialty grocery store or African market. —Lola Osinkolu
Ingredients
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2 pounds
white yams
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3 tablespoons
vegetable oil
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5
large eggs
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2
small tomatoes, diced
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1
small yellow onion, sliced
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1/2
red bell pepper, diced
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1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt (plus more to taste)
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1/4 teaspoon
cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
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1 teaspoon
vegetable bouillon powder
Directions
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Peel the yams and slice them into ½-inch-thick circular discs. (Note: If yams are particularly large, you can further cut these slices into half-moons.) Rinse thoroughly under cold water.
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Place the sliced yams in a large pot. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and enough water to cover the yams. Bring water to a boil and reduce to a simmer just until a knife pierces the yams with no resistance, 20 to 25 minutes. Then drain the excess water.
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When the yams are almost done, whisk the eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt.
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Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 3 minutes or until translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes or until just softened, then stir in the bell peppers and cook a minute. Stir in the cayenne pepper and bouillon powder and season with salt to taste.
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Add eggs and cook, stirring occasionally, until you have created large soft curds of eggs and no liquid egg remains, 3 to 5 minutes.
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Serve hot alongside the cooked yams.
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