Egusi Soup with Beef and Spinach

Ingredients and method

About 4–6 servings with a starch (estimated)

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 US cups water for the beef, plus extra as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
• 2 US cups finely ground, shelled egusi seeds; measure after grinding
• 1/4 US cup edible unrefined red palm oil
• 2 tablespoons ground dried Nigerian crayfish (contains crustacean shellfish)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 6 ounces fresh spinach, washed, drained and chopped

Method

1. Place the beef, onion, salt and 4 cups water in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cover partly. Cook until the beef yields easily to a fork, adding water to keep it covered. Chuck commonly needs well over an hour; tenderness, not a fixed time, determines this stage.
2. Move the cooked beef to a covered bowl. Measure the broth and add water if needed to make 3 cups. Keep any extra broth for adjustments. Return the measured broth to the pot and bring to a simmer.
3. Whisk the egusi into the broth a little at a time, breaking dry pockets against the side. The mixture should be a loose, grainy slurry. Add another splash of broth if it is already a stiff paste.
4. Simmer gently, partly covered, for about 25 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom regularly. Soft curds will form. Add hot broth or water a few tablespoons at a time whenever the mixture starts catching or becomes too stiff to stir.
5. Stir in the red palm oil, ground crayfish and cayenne. Continue simmering for about 7–10 minutes, stirring often, until evenly colored and the egusi has a cooked, nutty aroma. These times are estimates; keep the soup moist enough to simmer rather than scorch.
6. Return the beef and stir in the spinach. Cook until the leaves have wilted and the meat is hot throughout. Adjust salt and thickness with small additions of hot water. Serve with prepared eba or pounded yam, or spoon over rice.