Edo Black Soup (Omoebe)
Overview
Edo black soup, omoebe, is a leaf soup from Edo State in southern Nigeria, named for its very dark colour. Three leaves are ground to a paste, traditionally on a grinding stone: bitter leaf, washed well to tame its bitterness, scent leaf, a kind of basil, and peppery uziza. Assorted meat, such as beef, tripe and cow skin, is boiled with onion and seasoning until tender, then stockfish, smoked fish, ground crayfish and pepper go in with banga, the thick extract of palm fruit, or a little palm oil. When the broth has thickened, the leaf paste is stirred in and simmered for only a few minutes, turning the soup almost black. It is eaten with pounded yam, eba or fufu.
History
The soup is especially linked with the Esan people of Edo State, who call it omebe, while the Bini of Benin City call it uwomw'ebe, and both names mean leaf soup. It uses less oil than most southern Nigerian soups, so the bitterness and aroma of the leaves stand out, and cooks still argue over whether two leaves are enough or all three are needed. Today it is eaten in homes and restaurants across Nigeria.
Main ingredients
Bitter leaf, scent leaf, uziza leaves, palm fruit extract, assorted meat, stockfish. The soup is built on dark ground-leaf palm fruit broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · More soups from Nigeria
Recipe
Method
- 1
Blend the uziza and scent leaves to a paste, and the bitter leaves separately, with very little water.
- 2
Boil the meat with the onion, salt and a seasoning cube until tender.
- 315 min
Add the smoked fish, stockfish, crayfish and palm fruit extract and cook for 15 minutes until thick.
- 4
Stir in the leaf pastes, pepper and seasoning.
- 55 min
Simmer for 5 minutes and serve with pounded yam or eba.
- ✓
Serve. About 1h 35m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
