Efo Iyana Ipaja Soup
Efo Iyana Ipaja is a Nigerian leafy green soup built around tree spinach, a tender vegetable that cooks in just a few minutes. The base is a blend of Scotch bonnet, red pepper and tomato, simmered in palm oil with meat, ponmo, crayfish and iru for deep savory flavor. Smoked fish goes in at the end with the greens. It is made for scooping up with eba or amala.
Instructions
Soak the tree spinach in salted water for 5 minutes, which helps prevent irritation while you wash and cut the leaves. Cut the leaves into pieces and leave them in a strainer to drain.
Blend the Scotch bonnet peppers, red bell peppers, tomatoes and onions into a smooth paste. Peel the ginger and garlic and blend them together into a separate smooth paste.
Put the meat, ponmo, diced onions, salt and the ginger-garlic paste in a pot and cover with water. Cook until the meat is soft, then take the pot off the heat and keep the stock.
Heat the palm oil in a second pot. Add the chopped onions and cook for a few minutes until they soften.
Stir in the blended pepper paste, the cooked meat and its stock, the ground crayfish, salt and the iru. Cover and boil for about 13 minutes.
Add the smoked fish and the drained tree spinach. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat so the greens stay tender and do not overcook.
Serve hot with eba, amala, rice or another swallow of your choice.
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