Editan Soup II is a traditional Nigerian recipe for an alternate method of preparing a classic stew of snails, fish, beef and periwinkles with Guinea pepper leaves, waterleaves, editan leaves and hot chilli powder in a palm oil base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nigerian version of: Editan Soup II.
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Snails are a classic component of this dish. The snail called for is the Giant African Land Snail, a group of edible species. For preparing these snails as food see my guide on how to prepare giant land snails.
Ingredients:
4 medium giant African land snails (optional)
1 large smoked fish
1 medium stockfish head
8 pieces of beef (about 50g each)
1 small onion, very finely chopped
500ml periwinkles in their shells
2 small bunches of odusa leaves [uziza Piper guinensea] (optional) [substitute any aromatic or spiced leaves, mustard greens work well]
1 large bunch of editan leaves (Lasienthera africana)
4 bunches of waterleaves Talinum triangulare (or spinach)
3 tbsp ground crayfish
1 tbsp hot chilli powder
10 tbsp red palm oil
2 Maggi (or stock) cubes
3.5l water
salt, to taste
Method:
Wash the stockfish, place in a bowl with the beef then season with 1 Maggi cube crumbled, the chopped onion and salt. Place in a pan with about 200ml water, bring to a boil, cover the pan and cook for 45 minutes, or until tender. Take off the heat and set aside.
Now prepare the editan leaves. Shred the leaves as finely as you can and wash thoroughly then pound in a mortar. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the pounded editan leaves. Continue boiling for 10 minutes then take off the heat (this softens and removes the bitterness from the leaves) and drain in a colander. Squeeze the leaves then rinse in several changes of water until the majority of the bitterness has been eliminated from the leaves.
Pick the waterleaves (or spinach), wash well then shred as finely as you can. Pick and wash the odusa leaves and shred finely. Chop off the tail end of the periwinkles, take out the intestines then wash thoroughly to remove any dirt or grit.
Return the pot with the meat and stockfish to the heat then add the water leaves. Stir to combine before adding the dried and smoked fish, crayfish, chilli powder, water and Maggi cube. Stir in the red palm oil, cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the editan leaves, cover the pot and cook for about 15 minutes (do not stir the leaves in, but shake the pot occasionally to ensure even distribution).
After 15 minutes of cooking, stir the soup to mix the ingredients and adjust the seasonings to taste. Now add the odusa leaves and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve hot, accompanied by fufu or ekpang iwa or eba.
