Cassava Leaf Soup

Ingredients:

480ml red Palm oil (or 480ml groundnut oil with 3 tbsp paprika)
4 bunches (about 1.2kg) chopped cassava leaves (or kale, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, turnip greens or similar with stems removed)
2 Maggi cubes or chicken stock cubes with a pinch of ground cumin and coriander seeds
Handful of ^**bitter balls (county pepper) to taste [optional]
2 Scotch Bonnet chillies
225g of fresh meat, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp baking soda
1 dried fish, washed and flaked
100g dry meat, shredded (jerky or biltong could be used)

Method:

Finely chop the cassava leaf and add 200g to a large pestle and mortar. Pound to a paste, along with the chillies, bitter balls and onion. Once you have a rough paste add more cassava leaves and continue pounding (you may have to do this in several batches).

Put the meat, dry fish and dry meat in a large pot of lightly-salted water along with the baking soda. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until completely dry. Add the cassava leaf paste at this point along with 200ml water and the Maggi cubes. Bring to a boil and simmer until almost dry then add the palm oil. Stir to fully incorporate the oil and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook for 10 minutes before serving over boiled rice.

^**Bitter Balls (also known as 'Country Pepper') is a species of aubergine (eggplant) with bitter fruit about the size of large marbles that closely resemble small garden eggs in colour and form. This is a common ingredient in many Liberian recipes. Substitute about 60g cubed cubed aubergine with 1 tsp ground bittering agent, such as Sénégal Pepper.