Edi Soup

Ingredients

• 1 big white yam tuber, peeled and cut into chunks — the new yam is the star
• 4 big handfuls of fresh ugwu (pumpkin leaf), sliced
• 3 big handfuls of waterleaf, chopped
• Half a medium goat or chicken, cooked
• 2 big handfuls of stockfish, soaked
• 2 big handfuls of smoked catfish, soaked and deboned
• 1 big handful of periwinkles, cleaned
• 3 cooking spoons of red palm oil
• 4 big handfuls of ground dried crayfish
• 4 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended
• 1 big onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon of ground ehuru
• 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
• Salt to taste

Method

1. 01

   Boiling the New Yam Separately. Peel and boil the yam chunks in salted water for 20 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside. The new yam will be added to the soup near the end — adding it too early causes it to dissolve completely.

2. 02

   Building the Efik Soup Base. Heat palm oil in a wide pot. Add sliced onion and fry 2 minutes. Add blended Atarodo and ground ehuru. Fry for 8 minutes. Add cooked goat or chicken, stockfish, smoked catfish and periwinkles. Pour in meat stock. Add ground crayfish, seasoning cubes and salt. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.

3. 03

   Adding the Vegetables. Add squeezed waterleaf first. Stir and cook 3 minutes. Add sliced ugwu. Stir through and cook for 8 minutes.

4. 04

   Adding the New Yam. Add the boiled yam chunks carefully to the finished soup. Stir gently — do not break the yam pieces. Cook for just 5 minutes to allow the yam to absorb the flavours of the soup. Taste and adjust all seasonings.

5. 05

   Ceremonial Serving. Serve with reverence — this is festival food. The new yam pieces should be visible and celebrated in the soup.

More festive & ceremonial dishes

• Jollof Party Rice120 min
• Pepper Soup60 min
• Ofe Onugbu120 min
• Tuwo Shinkafa120 min
• Kilishi Feast Platter45 min
• Nkwobi Festive Platter120 min