Ofe-Owerri Soup is a traditional Nigerian recipe (from Igboland) for a classic stew of meat, stockfish and dried fish cooked with cocoyam and uzouza leaves, in a stock base with palm oil, ground prawns and ground chillies. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nigerian version of: Ofe-Owerri Soup.
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This is a classic Igbo meat and greens soup from Owerri, the heart of Igboland.
Ingredients:
1kg assorted meat (oxtail, tripe, bushmeat, goat etc)
450g stockfish, washed, soaked and flaked
1 medium smoked and dried fish, flaked and de-boned
225g ground chillies (hot ones)
225g ground crayfish
225g Uzouza leaves, shredded [This plant is a member of the pepper family, Piper guineense which are light green when fresh and darken if dried or frozen. They can be found frozen in speciality African stores but an approximation can be found using Savoy cabbage and 2 tsp ground black pepper.]
450g cocoyam (taro), boiled and pounded
1l stock or water
6 tbsp red palm oil
salt, to taste
Method:
Wash the meat then place in a large pot and season with the salt and ground chillies. Add about 300ml of the stock, bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for about 45 minutes.
In the meantime, add the stockfish to a pan, cover with plenty of water and cook for about 60 minutes, or until tender.
Wash the cocoyam and peel. Put in a pan of lightly-salted water and cook for about 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain then place in a mortar and pound until soft.
Add the flaked dried fish to the meat, pour in the remaining stock to cover then bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Now form the pounded cocoyam into small balls and add this to the soup before stirring in the crayfish, stockfish, shredded uzouza leaves and oil.
Adjust the seasonings to taste, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until the greens are tender.
Serve hot, accompanied by pounded yam, garri or akpu (fermented cassava).
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