Africa: Nigeria: Nigerian Egusi Soup

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE BEEF AND STOCK:

Bone-in or boneless beef chuck roast (cut into 2-inch pieces) – 450 g

A medium-red onion (thinly sliced)

Ground crayfish – 2 tbsp

Diamond Crystal kosher salt – 2 tsp

Nigerian red dry pepper – 1/2 tsp

FOR THE EGUSI SOUP:

A medium red onion (roughly chopped)

Fresh habanero or Scotch bonnet pepper (optional) – 1/2

Ground egusi seeds – 2 cups

Unrefined red palm oil – 3/4 cup

Kosher salt and Nigerian red dry pepper

Ground crayfish – 1 tsp

Fresh pumpkin leaves, amaranth greens, or kale (finely chopped) – 100 g

Fresh waterleaf or spinach (finely chopped) – 100 g

Finely chopped fresh or dried bitter leaf or fresh dandelion greens – 1 tbsp

INSTRUCTIONS:

Begin by preparing the stock. Take a medium-sized pot. Add beef, onion, crayfish, salt, pepper, and 6 1/2 cups of water to it and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and allow the ingredients to cook until the stock is somewhat reduced and the beef is tender. This should take you around 45 minutes.

Now, take a slotted spoon and take out the beef. Shift it to a medium heatproof bowl and keep it aside. Reserve stock.

Next, prepare the egusi soup. Take a food processor or countertop blender, and add the onion, pepper (if using), and 1/4 cup of water to it. Process it until you achieve a smooth mixture. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and add in the ground egusi seeds. Pour water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a thick, creamy paste starts to form. Once done, set the paste aside.

Now, take a saucepan and heat oil over a low flame for 1 minute. Carefully pour in all of the reserved stock and the crayfish, and bring all the ingredients to a simmer. Add the freshly prepared paste (1 teaspoon at a time) to the stock.

Make sure to cover the pan and then cook, stirring and softly scraping the bottom of the vessel every now and then. It should take you about 25 minutes until all of the paste is firm and brittle.

Throw in the reserved beef and combine gently to disintegrate the cooked paste into curds. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep cooking until the beef is heated completely and is tender. Some of the orange-red coloured palm oil may gather on the surface. It should require at least 10 minutes.

Add pumpkin leaves and waterleaf on top of the soup. There’s no need to stir the soup. Cover the vessel and allow it to steam until the greens are wilted. It’ll take about 2 minutes. Now, combine the wilted greens with the soup, stirring slowly. Throw in the bitter leaf and let the soup cook for about 8 minutes.

Once done, you can transfer the soup to different bowls and serve it hot along with eba, dodo or cooked white rice.