Nigerian Seafood Okra Soup with Prawns, White Fish and Eba

Ingredients

• 400 g okra
• 250 g raw king prawns, peeled
• 400 g white fish fillets (such as pollock)
• 4 tbsp red palm oil
• 1 onion
• 1 scotch bonnet chilli
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp
• 600 ml fish stock
• 150 g spinach
• 300 g gari (cassava granules)

Method

1. 1

   Top and tail the okra and either chop it very finely or pulse it briefly in a food processor; finer okra gives a more stretchy soup.

2. 2

   Heat the red palm oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the chopped onion and finely chopped scotch bonnet for 3 minutes. Add the fish stock and the dried shrimp, ground to a powder (it replaces the traditional crayfish), and bring to a simmer.

3. 3

   Cut the fish into large chunks, add to the pan and poach gently for 4 minutes. Add the okra and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, without stirring too much, until bright green and drawing.

4. 4

   Add the prawns and cook for 2-3 minutes until pink all the way through, then stir in the chopped spinach (it stands in for ugu leaves) and cook for 1 minute until wilted. Season with salt.

5. 5

   For the eba, pour 600ml boiling water into a bowl, sprinkle in the gari while stirring firmly with a wooden spoon, and keep stirring for 2 minutes until it forms a smooth, stiff dough. Add a little more water or gari to get the texture you like.

6. 6

   Shape the eba into 4 portions and serve with bowls of the okra soup, straight away.