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Truffle-Finished Egusi Soup

Truffle-Finished Egusi Soup is one of the most ambitious and successful Nigerian gourmet fusions — the classic Egusi Soup elevated with truffle oil added off the heat at the very last moment. Both Egusi and truffle share deep earthy, nutty flavour profiles — when combined they amplify each other rather than competing.

Truffle-Finished Egusi Soup, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 2 big cups of ground egusi (melon seeds)
  • 5 big handfuls of fresh ugwu (pumpkin leaf) or spinach, sliced
  • Half a medium chicken, cooked and fried golden
  • 1 big handful of stockfish, soaked
  • 2 big handfuls of smoked catfish, soaked and deboned
  • 3 cooking spoons of red palm oil
  • 3 big handfuls of ground dried crayfish
  • 4 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended
  • 1 tablespoon of iru (fermented locust beans)
  • 1 big onion, sliced
  • 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 glasses of water or stock THE TRUFFLE ELEMENT (added at service only):
  • A small bottle of high-quality black truffle oil — a careful drizzle per serving
  • OR a small piece of fresh black truffle, very thinly shaved over each bowl at the table

Method

  1. 01

    Frying the Pepper Base. Heat palm oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Add iru and fry 1 minute. Add sliced onion and fry 2 minutes. Add blended Atarodo. Fry vigorously for 15 minutes until deeply cooked and oil floats prominently.

  2. 02

    Frying the Egusi. Mix ground egusi with enough water to form a thick paste. Drop spoonfuls into the hot pepper base without stirring immediately. Fry 5 minutes until the egusi firms up and smells deeply nutty. Then stir and fry for a further 5 minutes.

  3. 03

    Building the Soup. Add all the proteins — fried chicken, stockfish and smoked catfish. Add ground crayfish and seasoning cubes. Add 2 glasses of water or stock. Season with salt. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until soup is thick and deeply flavoured.

  4. 04

    Adding the Vegetables. Add sliced ugwu or spinach. Stir through vigorously. Cook 5 minutes. Taste and adjust all seasonings.

  5. 05

    The Truffle Finish — Critical Step. This step MUST be done completely off the heat. Remove the pot from the heat entirely and allow the soup to stop boiling completely. Drizzle a small amount of truffle oil over the surface of the soup and stir gently once — heat destroys truffle aroma instantly. If using fresh truffle, shave directly over each individual serving bowl at the table for maximum aromatic impact.

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