Ogbono Soup with Waterleaf is a traditional Nigerian recipe for a classic stew of mixed meat, fish and seafood in a palm oil, waterleaf, ogbono and chilli-based sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nigerian version of: Ogbono Soup with Waterleaf.
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This is another traditional Nigerian stew where ogbono represents the seeds of the calabash nutmeg. Their taste is rather like a mix between nutmeg and cubeb pepper and you could substitute these two ingredients in terms of taste, but they will not have the viscous nature of true ogbono. If you want something closer in texture (if not taste) substitute 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cubeb pepper, 2 tbsp ground macadamia nuts and 2 tbsp nori. Waterleaf can simply and easily be substituted with spinach.
Ingredients:
1kg assorted meats (oxtail, tripe, game, offal)
450g stockfish (pre-soaked) — (for preparing your own, see the recipe on how to prepare saltfish/stockfish)
450g dried smoked fish (washed)
225g whole dry prawns (cleaned)
225g ground crayfish
500g waterleaf, washed and shredded
225g ground ogbono seeds
25g ground black pepper
25g iru (fermented locust beans (carob) — omit if not available)
1 medium onion, sliced
4 habanero chillies, ground to a paste
290ml palm oil
2l stock or water
salt to taste
Method:
Wash the assorted meats thoroughly and add to a pot. Add the sliced onions, ground chillies and some stock or water. Cook for 30 minutes then add the washed smoked fish and stockfish, cook for a further 10–15 minutes adding a little stock or water as needed to prevent burning.
In a separate pot, heat the oil and fry the ground ogbono seeds for 3 minutes to bring out their nutty flavour. Gradually add the stock to the ogbono mixture and whisk until it begins to bubble then add the cooked meats, onions, peppers and crayfish. Add the iru (if available) and the waterleaf then allow to simmer for a further 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and serve hot with pounded yam.
