Bitter Leaf and Unripe Pawpaw Soup

Ingredients

• 4 big handfuls of fresh bitter leaf, washed only 2 to 3 times — keeping therapeutic bitterness
• Half an unripe green pawpaw (papaya), peeled, seeds removed and cut into cubes
• Half a medium chicken or big handful of lean beef
• 2 cooking spoons of palm oil
• 2 big handfuls of ground dried crayfish
• 3 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended
• 1 big onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon of ground uziza seeds
• 2 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
• Salt to taste
• 4 glasses of water

Method

1. 01

   Cooking the Protein. Season the chicken or beef with 1 seasoning cube and salt. Cook in water with sliced onion for 25 to 30 minutes until tender. Reserve the stock.

2. 02

   Preparing the Bitter Leaf. Wash the bitter leaf only 2 to 3 times — retaining a meaningful level of therapeutic bitterness. Squeeze lightly. Set aside.

3. 03

   Building the Soup Base. Heat palm oil in a wide pot. Add blended Atarodo and fry for 8 minutes. Add the cooked protein and its reserved stock. Add ground crayfish, uziza seeds, remaining seasoning cube and salt. Add enough water to make a good broth. Bring to a simmer.

4. 04

   Adding the Pawpaw. Add the unripe pawpaw cubes to the simmering broth. Cook for 15 minutes until the pawpaw is tender — it should be soft but still holding its shape.

5. 05

   Adding the Bitter Leaf. Add the washed bitter leaf. Stir through. Cook for 10 minutes. The soup will turn deep green and smell intensely therapeutic. Taste and adjust — the bitterness should be present but balanced by the seasoning. Serve hot.

More health & therapeutic recipes

• Unripe Plantain Porridge for Diabetics45 min
• Tiger Nut and Moringa Smoothie Bowl20 min
• Garden Egg and Groundnut Soup45 min
• Moringa Egusi Soup60 min
• Crayfish and Pawpaw Leaf Soup45 min
• Iron-Rich Spinach and Liver Sauce35 min