Egusi soup with pumpkin leaves
Ground melon seed thickens into something rich and nutty. Ugu goes in at the very end so it keeps its bite and its colour.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- easy
Ingredients
- 250g egusi seeds, ground
- 250g ugu (pumpkin leaves), washed and shredded
- 80ml palm oil
- 2 tbsp ground crayfish
- 1 scotch bonnet, chopped
Method
Heat the palm oil gently — it should shimmer, not smoke.
Mix the ground egusi with a little water into a thick paste, then drop it into the oil in spoonfuls. Leave it alone for 5 minutes so it sets into curds rather than dissolving.
Add the crayfish, scotch bonnet and enough stock to loosen it. Simmer for 25 minutes.
Stir the ugu through and take it off the heat after 2 minutes. Any longer and you lose both the colour and the texture.
Egusi is forgiving. The only real mistake is stirring too early — break up the paste before it sets and you get a grainy soup instead of soft curds.
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