Palm Nut Soup

I could go on and on about the benefits of eating palm nuts but all that information is already on the internet. What I would say though that this Palm Nut soup is probably the best thing I've made all year, it is also the first Ghanaian soup I learned how to prepare as a kid and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The main purpose of the smoked shrimp in this recipe besides flavor is to add a bit of sweetness which the soup needs. If for whatever reason smoked/dried shrimp is unavailable, shrimp powder might get the job done but the taste of shrimp will not be as vibrant if you had used the smoked shrimp.

Recipe

what you need

584g goat meat, abt 5 big meaty chunks

529g cow leg, abt 5 big chunks

8 medium crabs

2 cups dried/smoked shrimp, washed and drained

16 smoked herrings, skin peeled

8 cups of Palm nut juice* (palm nut juice should have the consistency of heavy cream otherwise 16 cups with the consistency of water)

1 kako

1 Prekese

2 very large onions

1 - 2 cups chili pepper (adjust as you wish)

1 thumb size ginger

6 garlic cloves

5 ripe tomatoes 

2 teaspoon of your favorite spice mix

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon chicken seasoning 

*palm nut juice is made by cooking palm fruit and pounding it in a mortar until smooth (don't worry about the seeds) and then adding enough water to the mixture and straining it about 4 times. There are already prepared ones for sale. You’ll need to add a little water to reach the consistency used in this recipe.

Directions

Blend pepper, garlic and 1 of the onion. In a pot over medium high heat, add both meats and the crabs. Add the blended mixture to meat over medium high heat. Rinse the blender with 1 cup of water and pour over meat.Add spice mix, chicken seasoning and salt. Stir and cover. Allow it to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove crabs after the 30 minutes and set aside for later.

Meanwhile wash and clean the prekese then toast by bringing it into contact with direct heat until fragrant. Your whole house will smell so beautiful.

After the meat is done simmering, add the palm nut juice, prekese, fresh tomatoes, kako, the 1 onion left and allow it to continue cooking. After an hour, remove the onion and tomatoes and blend together and add the blended mixture back to the soup. Add the smoked herring, crabs and smoked shrimp to the soup. Taste and adjust salt.

Allow the soup to simmer for an additional 15 mins and turn off heat. Bear in mind that palm nut soup thickens as it cools so be careful not to let it get too thick before taking it off the heat. Crush any leftover pepper between and add to the palm nut soup for extra heat.

Serve with steamed rice, yam, bank or fufu.