Vegetable Soup Yoruba Style

Ingredients

• 2 big cups of ground egusi (melon seeds)
• 6 big handfuls of fresh spinach or shoko leaves, washed and chopped
• 1 big handful of mushrooms (fresh or dried and rehydrated) — for umami depth
• 3 cooking spoons of palm oil
• 3 big Tatashe (red bell peppers), blended
• 3 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended
• 1 big onion — half blended, half sliced
• 3 big handfuls of ground crayfish
• 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
• Salt to taste
• 2 glasses of water or vegetable stock

Method

1. 01

   Frying the Pepper Base. Heat 3 cooking spoons of palm oil in a wide pot. Fry the blended Tatashe, Atarodo and onion for 15 to 20 minutes until deeply cooked and oil floats on top.

2. 02

   Adding Mushrooms. Add the mushrooms (chopped if fresh, drained if rehydrated) to the pepper. Fry for 5 minutes — mushrooms add a deep, meaty umami quality that compensates for the absence of meat.

3. 03

   Frying the Egusi. Mix ground egusi with a little water to a paste. Drop spoonfuls into the pepper. Do not stir immediately — allow to fry for 5 minutes, then stir and fry for another 5 minutes until the egusi smells nutty and cooked.

4. 04

   Adding Stock and Seasoning. Add 2 glasses of vegetable stock or water. Add ground crayfish, crushed seasoning cubes and salt. Stir well and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. 05

   Adding Vegetables. Add the chopped spinach or shoko leaves. Stir through. Cook for 5 minutes only — the leaves should remain vibrant and fresh. Taste and adjust all seasonings. Serve hot.

More soups & broths

• Egusi Soup90 min
• Efo Riro75 min
• Gbegiri60 min
• Ewedu Soup25 min
• Ogbono Soup60 min
• Obe Ata60 min