Nigerian Editan Soup
Editan soup is a leafy vegetable soup from the Efik people of southeastern Nigeria. Its main leaf, editan, is naturally bitter, so the cook blanches and squeezes it in hot salted water until the bitterness fades. The method resembles afang soup, but the taste is its own. Meat, stockfish, dryfish, crayfish and palm oil give the greens a deep savory base, and a swallow on the side soaks up every bit.
Instructions
Season the meat with pepper, a crushed seasoning cube and salt. Put it in a pot with the chopped onion, cover with water and cook until the meat is about half done.
Add the stockfish and dryfish. Keep cooking until the meat is tender and the fish has softened, leaving only a small amount of rich stock in the pot.
While that cooks, bring a separate pot of water to the boil and stir in salt. Pour the hot salted water over the sliced editan leaves, then squeeze them in a strainer to press out the liquid.
Repeat the washing and squeezing until the leaves no longer taste bitter. Taste a small piece each time to check.
Once the meat is fully cooked, stir the chopped waterleaf into the pot and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the drained editan leaves, stir, cover the pot and cook for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the palm oil and ground crayfish. Adjust the seasoning with more seasoning cube, pepper and salt until it tastes right to you.
Serve hot with the swallow of your choice.
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