African Okra Soup Recipes

OKRA SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Soak the dried fish and the stockfish for hours beforehand. The stockfish will also need to be precooked.
• Grind the crayfish and the red pepper (if it is not already ground).
• Wash the pumpkin leaves and cut them into tiny pieces.
• Boil the beef trip and stockfish in the same pot until they are soft. Add the beef, onions, and bouillon cubes. When the beef is done, then add the dried fish
• Put the red palm oil in another pot and heat it. When the oil becomes hot, add the diced okra and fry it.
• Add some of the water left from boiling the beef and fish, and within about 5 minutes the okra will be cooked and would have started to "draw."
• At this point, add the vegetables, beef, beef tripe, fish, crayfish, and pepper and salt. Stir the soup intermittently.
• Cover the pot and allow the soup to simmer for a few minutes. The soup is ready to be served.

OKRA STEW

Steps:

• Heat the palm oil in a soup pot over medium heat. It has a low smoke point, so when it smokes, add the onions and stir well. Cook them, stirring often, until soft. Add the garlic, ginger and minced chiles and cook another minute. Salt everything well.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook that for a minute or two, stirring often. Add the diced tomatoes, the grains of Selim, and the stock and stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Add the okra and cook another 15 minutes, or until the okra is tender. You want a fairly substantial stew, so only add additional water or stock if everything is getting sticky. Season with salt to taste and add the pepper in at the end. Serve over meat, fish or with rice.

AFRICAN OKRA SOUP

Steps:

• Trim off both ends of okra pods.
• Slice 1/4 inch thick.
• Carefully place the tomatoes into a small pot of boiling water for about 30-45 seconds. Remove from water and peel off skin.
• Slice tomatoes in half and scoop out the runny insides, discard this part. Coarsely chop the fleshy part of the tomatoes.
• Dice the bacon and fry until crisp. Remove to papertowels. Save grease.
• Place all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the okra is just tender.
• *1-2 Tbl. bacon grease can (and should)be added to enhance the soup's flavor.
• **The lemon can be thickly sliced and cooked right in the pot of soup, or it can be zested and halved and the fresh juice can be squeezed over each portion when served to taste, and garnished with the zest.