Description
Egusi soup is a West African stew of meat and leafy greens thickened with egusi, dried and ground melon seeds.
Ingredients
Scale
1 pound of red mini sweet peppers or red bell peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 plum tomatoes, quartered
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
½ cup palm oil
2 tablespoon dry ground shrimps or crayfish
2 pounds bone-in chicken or meat of choice, par cooked
1 cup of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of Knorr bouillon powder
1 pound of dried herring fish or dried catfish (optional)
8 ounces egusi (ground melon seeds)
10 ounces of spinach leaves or any other greens, roughly chopped
Salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the tomatoes, peppers, onion, and garlic to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Heat up a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the pot is hot, add ½ cup of palm oil.
- Once the palm oil is hot enough, about 1 minute (watch for overheating) pour in your blended mix then stir and reduce the heat to medium.
- Stir the ground shrimp or crayfish into the sauce. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken, chicken stock, bouillon powder, and dried fish, if using. Stir well and cover with a lid to cook for another 5 minutes.
- In a separate medium bowl, use a spoon to mix the egusi with ⅔ cup of water to create a paste.
- Scoop the egusi paste into the sauce. Do not stir to allow small clusters of egusi to form.
- Cover the pot with the lid, reduce to low heat and let the egusi cook. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and stir.
- Add the spinach and salt to taste, stir. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes on low heat.
- Serve the egusi soup in a bowl with fufu, eba, or pounded yam.