Egusi Soup Recipe

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 medium onion (chopped)

2 cups ground Egusi (melon seeds, egusi powder, You can substitute with ground pumpkin seeds)

½ cup water

1 large onion (chopped)

2 large red bell peppers (chopped)

1-2 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers (chopped, optional, for spicy)

2 tablespoons dried crawfish powder (You can sub with shrimp powder)

½ cup water

1 cup palm oil (or use annatto oil, coconut oil)

1 large onion (chopped)

4 cups meat or fish stock (use 6 cups for soupier)

1 tablespoon Nigerian red pepper powder (or use cayenne)

1 pound white fish

3 cups chopped spinach (or use pumpkin leaves, bitter leaves, dandelion greens, kale, or a mix)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup pounded yam powder

1 cup water

Directions

FOR THE EGUSI PASTE

Onion

Add the onion to a food processor or blender and process to form a paste.

Egusi Paste

Add to a mixing bowl and stir in the egusi powder and water. Mix to form a thick paste. Set aside.

FOR THE PEPPER PASTE

Process

Add the onion, peppers, crawfish powder, and water to a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.

FOR THE EGUSI SOUP

Palm Oil

Heat the palm oil in a large pot to medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften.

Stir

Add the pepper paste and stir. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Stock

Add the stock, red pepper powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes.

Paste

Gently add the egusi paste by the spoonful. Do not over mix, but stir in very gently. It should be slightly lumpy. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Fish

Gently stir the soup a bit (avoid breaking up the lumps), then add the fish and stir. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Spinach

Add the spinach and cover to steam, 2-3 minutes. Stir into the soup and simmer 2-3 minutes more to soften.

Serve.

FOR THE FUFU (OPTIONAL)

Boil

Bring the water to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat and stir in the yam powder. Stir until it mixes together and thickens into a doughy, starchy ball, about 5 minutes.

Roll

Separate and roll into golf ball sized pieces and serve with the soup.

Nutrition

• Calories: 443 kcal
• Total Fat: 37 g
• Saturated Fat: 15 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 19 g
• Trans Fat: 0.01 g
• Cholesterol: 70 mg
• Sodium: 210 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 10 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Total Sugars: 4 g
• Protein: 23 g