← Nouns Cooking · West & East African

Ingredients

• 100 g Ground ogbono (wild mango seed)
• 100 ml red palm oil
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 l meat stock, hot
• 600 g cooked beef, tripe or cow foot (a mix is classic), in chunks
• 150 g smoked fish or stockfish, soaked, deboned and flaked
• 2 tbsp Ground crayfish
• 2 Scotch bonnet chilli, finely chopped (or 1 tsp cayenne)
• 200 g ugu, spinach or kale, chopped
• salt or stock powder, to taste

Method

1. Warm the palm oil in a large pot over low heat for 1 minute (do not let it smoke). Take it off the heat and stir in the ground ogbono until it forms a smooth, lump-free paste.
2. Return to low heat, add the onion and stir for 2 min. Pour in about 250 ml of the hot stock, stirring constantly, until the ogbono starts to stretch and "draw".
3. Gradually stir in the rest of the stock, then add the beef, smoked fish, crayfish and scotch bonnets. Simmer gently for 15–20 min, stirring often from the bottom so it does not catch.
4. Add the greens and cook for 3–4 min until just wilted. Season with salt.
5. Serve hot with pounded yam, eba or fufu.

Tips

• Keep the heat low throughout: boiling ogbono hard makes it lose its stretch.
• Fresh ogbono smells nutty; old ground ogbono turns rancid, so store it in the freezer.
• Wear gloves to cut or blend scotch bonnets, keep your hands away from your eyes and wash the board, knife and blender well afterwards.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Chef Lola's Kitchen Low Carb Africa My Diaspora Kitchen