Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Eru (Wild Greens with Waterleaf)
A rich, oily stew of finely shredded eru forest leaves and waterleaf cooked with palm oil, smoked fish and crayfish, eaten with garri or water fufu.
Cameroonian · medium · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 45 min
~603 cal · 42g protein · 22g carbs · 40g fat · 15g fiber · 2g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Eru is a treasured dish of the Bayangi and Manyu people of southwestern Cameroon, and one of the country's signature meals. It is built on the wild forest leaf Gnetum africanum, known as eru or okazi, sliced into fine ribbons and stewed with softer waterleaf, generous red , smoked fish and ground crayfish.
Cooks call it a 'dry soup': the waterleaf is wilted first so it releases its own moisture, and no extra water goes in once the eru is added, so the finished dish stays thick, glossy and richly oiled rather than watery. Crayfish is considered non-negotiable, the source of the deep savoury note no dried fish can replace, and onions are traditionally left out.
Eru is celebration and Sunday food, cooked for weddings, naming ceremonies and family reunions, and to be handed a plate of well-made eru is a mark of honour and affection. It is eaten with water , the soft swallow, or with garri, pinched off and used to scoop up the greens.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
4 cups eru (Gnetum africanum) leaves, finely shredded, or collard greens
4 cups waterleaf or spinach, chopped
1/2 cup red
1/2 lb beef, cubed
1 cup smoked fish, deboned and flaked
2 tbsp ground crayfish
1 , minced
1 seasoning cube (optional)
for 4 garri or water , to serve
to taste salt
Instructions
1
If using dried eru, soak it in warm water for 30 to 60 minutes, then rinse well and shred it into thin ribbons. Wash the waterleaf or spinach and chop it.
✎ Chef’s note
Eru leaves are tough, so slice them as thinly as you can and give them the soak. Fresh collards want a similar fine shred.
2
Simmer the beef (or mushrooms) in a little salted water until tender, keeping the small amount of stock that remains.
3
Wilt the waterleaf or spinach in a dry pot over medium heat until it collapses and releases its water, then drain off the excess liquid.
4
Stir the palm oil into the greens, then add the smoked fish, crayfish and scotch bonnet and cook 5 minutes to bring the flavours together.
5
Add the shredded eru and the beef with its little stock, and cook low for about 20 minutes, stirring often, until the eru softens and drinks up the oil. It should stay moist and glossy, never watery.
✎ Chef’s note
Resist adding water once the eru is in. The dish is meant to be a thick, oil-slicked stew, and the waterleaf has already given up all the moisture it needs.
6
Season with salt and the seasoning cube if using, and serve hot with garri or a soft ball of water fufu.
Southwest Cameroon (Bayangi) tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Littoral (Douala). Ndole names the plant before it names the stew. The bitterleaf is washed and boiled repeatedly to take the edge off it, though never all of it, then cooked down with ground peanuts, crayfish and meat or fish. It goes with miondo, cassava fermented and steamed into leaf-wrapped sticks, and with plantain rather than rice.
🗺️
Cameroon. The other pole of Cameroonian cooking is achu, from the northwest: pounded cocoyam eaten with a bright yellow soup of palm oil emulsified with limestone water and spiced with country onion and bush pepper, taken with the fingers from a shared bowl. The country's food changes as sharply as its landscape does from coast to Sahel.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Cameroon
NdoléCameroon’s national dish: bitterleaf greens simmered with ground peanuts, beef, and shrimp into a deep, satisfying stew.
Puff-Puff and BeansSweet fried dough balls served with a savory stewed bean pot, a filling Cameroonian breakfast.
Poulet DGFried chicken and sweet plantain simmered with peppers and vegetables in a rich tomato sauce, a Cameroonian celebration favorite.
Browse all Cameroon recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Cameroon meal
Cameroonian Banana CakeDessert
NdoléDinner
Similar dishes from around the world
Dominica BouyonDominica
SumagiyyaPalestine
Sauce Gombo Ivoirienne (Okra Sauce)Côte d’Ivoire
Indio ViejoNicaragua
Milanesa NapolitanaArgentina
Emirati HareesUnited Arab Emirates
Cuisine
Diet
Gluten-Free Recipes from Around the World
Dairy-Free Recipes from Around the World
Nut-Free Recipes from Around the World
Egg-Free Recipes from Around the World
Pork-Free Recipes from Around the World
Gluten-Free Lunches from Around the World
Dairy-Free Lunches from Around the World
Nut-Free Lunches from Around the World
Egg-Free Lunches from Around the World
Frequently asked questions
What is Eru (Wild Greens with Waterleaf)?
A rich, oily stew of finely shredded eru forest leaves and waterleaf cooked with palm oil, smoked fish and crayfish, eaten with garri or water fufu.
Where does Eru (Wild Greens with Waterleaf) come from?
Eru (Wild Greens with Waterleaf) is a Cameroonian dish from Littoral (Douala), Cameroon.
Can Eru (Wild Greens with Waterleaf) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Eru (Wild Greens with Waterleaf) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Eru (Wild Greens with Waterleaf) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Eru (Wild Greens with Waterleaf) take to make?
About 75 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.