Burkina Faso | Side

Gonre

Name: Gonre
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 6 cakes
Cuisine: Burkina Faso, West Africa
Ingredients: 2 cups black-eyed peas, soaked and peeled; ½ cup roasted peanut powder; 1 cup finely chopped bean leaves or spinach; ½ cup fine maize couscous; 1 small onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic; 1 whole fresh chili; 2 tbsp oil; salt, to taste

Burkinabe steamed bean cakes made from cowpea paste, peanut, leafy greens, and maize couscous.

Country

Burkina Faso

Region

West Africa

Time

90 min

Serves

Level

medium

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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Gonre is a Mossi bean dish with two moods: smooth in the dry season and leaf-rich when bean leaves are available.

What the dish tastes like

Burkinabe steamed bean cakes made from cowpea paste, peanut, leafy greens, and maize couscous.

When to cook it

Best for Best for breakfast markets, snack plates, and ceremonial family cooking., with a medium cooking level and about 90 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Tomato sauce, chili oil, or a light onion relish.

Regional lane

Burkina Faso national table. A verified Burkina Faso dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs

Overcooking the greens until the color and texture collapse.
Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.

How you know it is ready

Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.

Chef board

Build the table around Gonre

Tomato sauce, chili oil, or a light onion relish.

Best route from here

Burkina Faso national table

Collections to keep cooking

Vegetarian African Classics

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Ingredients

For 6 cakes

Side

Bean paste

2 cups black-eyed peas, soaked and peeled ½ cup roasted peanut powder 1 cup finely chopped bean leaves or spinach ½ cup fine maize couscous

Aromatics

1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic 1 whole fresh chili

Fat

2 tbsp oil

Finishing

salt, to taste

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Burkina Faso

4 steps 90 min total medium

Blend the beans

Blend peeled beans with onion, garlic, chili, and just enough water to make a thick paste.

blend 08:00

Season and rest

Fold in peanut powder, greens, maize couscous, oil, and salt. Let the mixture hydrate.

rest 20:00

Steam cakes

Spoon into oiled cups or leaves and steam until firm through the center.

steam 35:00

Serve warm

Unmold and serve with tomato sauce or chili oil.

finish 03:00

Leafy versions include bean leaves or greens; simpler versions are mostly cowpea paste and seasoning.

Gonre

What to know before you cook

Build the table around Gonre

Step-by-step method

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