Fresh Pepper Soup Fish Assorted

Ingredients

• 1 medium piece of fresh catfish, cleaned and cut into steaks
• 2 pieces of fresh tilapia steak
• 1 big handful of fresh large prawns, deveined
• 1 big handful of periwinkles, scrubbed
• 1 big handful of smoked catfish, soaked and deboned
• 4 to 5 Atarodo (very hot chilli peppers), whole
• 1 teaspoon of ground uziza seeds
• 1 teaspoon of ground ehuru (calabash nutmeg)
• 1 teaspoon of ground Cameroon pepper
• 3 big handfuls of ground dried crayfish
• 1 big onion, sliced
• 2 cooking spoons of palm oil
• 2 pieces of oburunbebe stick
• 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
• Salt to taste
• 6 glasses of water or light fish stock
• A small handful of fresh scent leaves (nchanwu), torn

Method

1. 01

   Building the Premium Spiced Broth. Place oburunbebe sticks in a large pot with 6 glasses of water. Add whole Atarodo, ground uziza seeds, ground ehuru, ground Cameroon pepper, sliced onion, ground crayfish, palm oil and seasoning cubes. Bring to a vigorous boil. Simmer for 10 minutes to develop the broth.

2. 02

   Adding the Firm Seafood First. Add the periwinkles and smoked catfish first — they take longest to cook and are most resilient. Cook for 8 minutes.

3. 03

   Adding the Fresh Fish. Add the catfish steaks and tilapia pieces. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.

4. 04

   Adding Prawns Last. Add the fresh prawns in the final 5 minutes. Add the torn scent leaves. Cook until the prawns are just pink and cooked through.

5. 05

   Final Seasoning. Remove oburunbebe sticks. Taste and adjust salt and seasoning carefully. The broth should be intensely spiced, clear to slightly orange and packed with the flavours of multiple seafoods.

6. 06

   Serving. Serve in a large, deep bowl showing all the different seafood components visible in the aromatic broth. Serve piping hot immediately.

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