A rich and enveloping egusi soup, with meltingly tender beef, smoked fish, green leaves and a thick, coating seed sauce. The cassava fufu provides the soft, elastic contrast that balances the entire dish.
Ingredients
- 180 g ground egusi seeds
- 500 g fresh spinach or amaranth leaves
- 400 g stewing beef, such as chuck or flat iron
- 150 g smoked fish or smoked mackerel
- 500 g ready-to-cook cassava fufu
- 3 tbsp red palm oil
- 1 piece yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 15 g fresh ginger
- 200 g crushed tomatoes
- 900 ml water
- to taste fresh chili or habanero chili
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
Method
- Thinly slice the onion, grate the garlic and ginger, wash the leaves then roughly chop them; the prep must be ready before heating the pot.
- Season the beef with salt and pepper, then brown it in the hot palm oil until the sides are well colored and the bottom of the pot begins to stick slightly.
- Add the sliced onion and sauté until it becomes soft, glossy and deeply fragrant, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, chili and crushed tomatoes; let reduce until you have a thick, dark red base, with no raw tomato smell.
- Moisten with the water, partially cover and simmer until the beef easily falls apart under the pressure of a spoon.
- Whisk the ground egusi seeds with a little hot liquid from the pot to obtain a soft paste, then add it in small dollops without stirring too much at first, to form tender clumps in the sauce.
- Add the smoked fish pieces and continue cooking over low heat until the sauce thickens, becomes satiny and generously coats the back of a spoon.
- Fold in the chopped leaves and cook just until they wilt, remain green and meld into the sauce without becoming dull.
- Prepare the cassava fufu according to the package directions while the soup finishes simmering; it should be smooth, hot and firm enough to shape by hand.
- Adjust the salt and chili, then serve the piping hot soup with the fufu on the side, keeping the sauce generous and thick.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 1060.8 kcal
- Protein
- 49.28 g
- Carbohydrate
- 118.2 g
- Fat
- 42.61 g
- Fibre
- 12.92 g
- Calcium
- 9.28 mg
- Iron
- 0.3 mg
- Magnesium
- 8.34 mg
