In my family, certain Nigerian dishes were tied to particular days of the week, and garden egg stew—sometimes called garden egg sauce—was what I always thought of as a weekend staple. Growing up, my family would eat it on Saturday mornings, served with boiled yams or just-ripe plantains. If we made a large pot, it stretched into the week, when we’d often bulk it up with chopped leafy greens like amaranth or add herbs like scent leaf (similar to Japanese shiso or Korean perilla). That weekday version was perfect spooned over steamed rice, while leftovers were just as good the next morning alongside fried eggs.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Garden egg stew belongs to the extended global family of eggplant-and-tomato dishes—think French ratatouille, Provençal tian, or Catalan escalivada—but its flavor profile and texture are distinctly Nigerian. The key ingredient, garden eggs (a local type of small eggplant), are cousins of Thai eggplants and a distant relative of globe eggplants (aubergines). Nigerian garden eggs are typically oval, about the size of a hen’s egg, and range in color from white to cream to green, sometimes streaked. They’re eaten raw as well as cooked, and their earthy bitterness plays beautifully against summer produce like ripe tomatoes, sweet peppers, zucchini, and chiles.
If you can’t find Nigerian garden eggs, Thai eggplants make an excellent substitute since they’re similar in size, shape, and flavor. In a pinch, standard globe eggplants work too; they’re less bitter, but when salted and drained before cooking, they absorb flavor readily. Whichever you use, salting the eggplant (and zucchini) before cooking draws out excess moisture, concentrates flavor, and ensures the stew isn’t watery.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Classic garden egg sauce is made with unrefined red palm oil, which contributes a deep, nutty flavor and vibrant color. Peanut oil makes a good alternative, though any neutral or lightly flavored oil can be used; just keep in mind that each will lend its own character to the dish.
Like many Nigerian stews, this one layers flavors from a base of vegetables with salty, umami-rich additions. Dried shrimp (often labeled “crayfish” in African grocers)—widely available in African, Asian, and Caribbean stores—are essential for their briny depth. They should be soaked briefly in warm water to soften before cooking, which both restores some of their plumpness and tempers their concentrated salinity. Smoked or canned mackerel, another traditional component, adds an assertive smokiness not unlike bacon or lardons in a French dish. For a plant-forward version, mushrooms (especially rehydrated dried shiitakes) offer a similarly meaty bite and intensity, and a dash of mushroom or vegan oyster sauce can heighten the umami even more.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
When cooked, the stew takes on a mix of textures: blending a portion of the vegetable base gives the sauce body, while the unblended vegetables remain chunky and rustic. The result is saucy but substantial.
Serve it as you would any classic Nigerian sauce: with boiled yams or plantains, with rice or couscous, or simply with bread to mop it up. Leftovers are excellent on toast with a fried egg, folded into an omelet, or even tossed with pasta as a West African–Mediterranean hybrid. However you serve it, garden egg stew is a vibrant reminder of eggplant’s versatility, and of how deeply satisfying a pot of summer vegetables can be.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
If You Love Ratatouille, You Need to Try This Bold, Saucy Eggplant Dish
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1 pound (450 g) Nigerian garden eggs or Thai eggplants, or Globe eggplants, ends trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 large zucchini (about 300 g), ends trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch dice
4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
1/2 cup (120 ml) unrefined peanut oil or red palm oil, divided, plus more as needed
3 medium red tomatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds; 565 g total), cored and thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper (7 ounces; 198 g), stemmed, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 medium red onion (8 ounces; 226 g), thinly sliced
1/2 Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, stemmed and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried shrimp, rehydrated in warm water for 10 minutes and drained (see notes)
1/4 cup (55 g) smoked mackerel, deboned, skin-on (if you like), and cut into chunks, or rehydrated dried mushrooms such as shiitake (see notes)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Place eggplant and zucchini in a strainer or colander set over a bowl. Season with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and toss until well combined. Let stand to drain for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour. Discard the liquids that collect in the bowl.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Once drained, in a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup oil on medium-low heat until shimmering. Add tomatoes, red bell peppers, onion, Scotch bonnet (to taste), and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl; set aside.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
In the now-empty pot, add 1/4 cup more oil and heat over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add drained eggplant and zucchini, and cook until softened, about 8 minutes.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Transfer cooked eggplant and zucchini to bowl with tomato mixture and toss to combine. Transfer half of cooked vegetable mixture to a blender jar and blend, starting on low speed and increasing to high until broken down and loose. (Hold a folded kitchen towel over jar lid while blending and be careful, as the mixture is hot.)
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Return cooked vegetables, vegetable puree, and dried shrimp to now-empty large pot or Dutch oven and cook over medium-low heat, partially covered, until warm and saucy, 5 to 7 minutes.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Add mackerel or mushrooms and cayenne pepper, stir, and continue to cook until eggplant is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and more cayenne pepper, if needed. If egg sauce is still too wet, continue to cook, partially covered with lid ajar, until thickened slightly, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Special Equipment
Colander, large pot or Dutch oven, blender
Notes
Vacuum-sealed or freshly smoked fillets can often be found in the refrigerated case near other smoked fish in many markets. Some smoked mackerel comes canned or in jars, often preserved in oil or brine—these can work in a pinch, but the flavor is stronger and saltier, so use less and taste as you go. If unavailable, smoked trout can be substituted.
For the dried shrimp, avoid the extra-large varieties (often used for stocks or broth), and choose shrimp no bigger than a thumbnail—they rehydrate quickly and break down nicely into the sauce. Look for small to medium dried shrimp (sometimes labeled crayfish), usually sold in plastic bags in the freezer or dry goods section of African, Asian, or Caribbean groceries.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The stew can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
