Egusi Soup with Beef and Spinach

Ingredients

• 600 g beef stewing steak, diced
• 200 g ground egusi (melon seeds)
• 5 tbsp red palm oil
• 2 onions
• 1 red pepper
• 1 scotch bonnet chilli
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp
• 1 beef stock cube
• 400 g spinach
• 300 g long-grain rice

Method

1. 1

   Cut the beef into 2cm pieces and put in a pan with half an onion, chopped, the crumbled stock cube and 700ml water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 50 minutes until tender. Keep the cooking liquid.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, blend the red pepper, the remaining onion and the scotch bonnet with a splash of water. Mix the ground egusi with 6 tbsp water to a thick paste (if you cannot find egusi, blitz the same weight of pumpkin seeds to a fine powder). Grind the dried shrimp to a powder; it stands in for the traditional ground crayfish.

3. 3

   Heat the red palm oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the pepper blend and fry for 5 minutes. Drop in the egusi paste in spoonfuls and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes, then stir gently so it sets into soft curds. Cook for 10 minutes more, stirring now and then so it does not catch.

4. 4

   Add the beef with 400ml of its cooking liquid and the ground shrimp, and simmer for 10 minutes until thick. Season with salt.

5. 5

   While the soup simmers, rinse the rice and cook it in 600ml lightly salted water, covered, for 12-15 minutes until tender.

6. 6

   Roughly chop the spinach, stir it into the soup and cook for 3 minutes until wilted. Serve straight away with the rice (or pounded yam if you have it), and cool any leftover rice quickly.