Table of Contents
Potato Pepper Soup is an easy and hearty comfort food very popular in West Africa. As the name implies ‘Pepper Soup’ is a hot and spicy potato recipe made with a blend of aromatic African spices.
This moreish soup will have you coming back for more! Don’t hold back – add extra pepper if you’re brave!
Is Pepper Soup Healthy?
One pot of pepper soup is an incredibly easy meal that the entire family will enjoy! Made with tons of veggies, this dish provides vital nutrients while also tasting absolutely delicious.
Benefits of Pepper Soup
Here are some benefits of pepper soup;
- The calabash nutmeg, traditionally called Ehiri or Ehuru seems small but mighty in its medicinal strength, it is efficient in the treatment of diarrhea, relieves toothache, headache, chest pain, cold and body aches.
- It can be good for stomach issues, rashes, dermatitis and skin disease.
- It’s a low-carb meal.
- It is one meal that can increase the appetite of a person with a poor appetite
Is Pepper Soup Good For Sore Throat?
Just like drinking hot tea, hot soup can be soothing on a sore throat and can help thin sinus mucus. It also helps keep you hydrated (but stick with low sodium soups) and according to a study in the Chest Journal, it may even contain anti-inflammatory substances that could help reduce cold symptoms.
How To Make Potato Pepper Soup
The ingredients used in making pepper soup gives you a whole package of nourishment and flavor; right from the cooking process, the entire atmosphere is filled with the strong aromatic smell of the spices.
Potato Pepper Soup Ingredients
It does not need lots of ingredients. All you need is the special spice and scent leaves and you have the pepper soup taste.
- Potato
- Grounded ehu (calabash nutmeg)
- Scent leaves
- Habanero pepper (to taste)
- Sweet pepper or tatashe
- Salt (to taste)
Notes on The Ingredients For Potato Pepper Soup
- You can use tilapia, croaker fish or cat fish.
- Irish Potato is informally known as spud. You may also use yam, sweet potatoes but Irish potatoes are preferable for this meal.
- Mushroom is Ero/Elo/Eru (Igbo), Oru (Igala), Udib/Annang (Efik/Ibibio), Leman Kwado or Rumfar Kwado or Hular Kare (Hausa), Olu (Yoruba), Itu/Utun (Edo/Delta), Ikhowe (IsiZulu) etc.
- Ehu (Calabash Nutmeg) is a very traditional ingredient that is difficult to find outside Nigeria. You can add more of black pepper to make up for ehu. Ordinary nutmeg is not an alternative to this because they are not similar in any way.
- The 2 habanero peppers may be too much but you can adjust to your taste
- If you do not have scent leaves, use parsley.
- The bay leaves did not make any difference so you can skip it.
Why is My Potato Pepper Soup Bitter?
Your pepper soup will have a bitter taste if you use too much of the pepper soup spice blend. To rectify this simply add more water to the broth.
Storing and Reheating Potato Pepper Soup
Store this pepper soup in an air-tight container to preserve it properly. You can store potato pepper soup for a few days in the refrigerator and about 1-2 months in the freezer.
If frozen, allow the pepper soup to thaw entirely before reheating. There’s no need to add water to reheat it, just leave it on low heat for five to ten minutes.
Keep watch and turn it with a spoon so it doesn’t burn. Do not reheat in a microwave to prevent it from splashing everywhere.
That’s it! Serve and sprinkle the scents leaves on top. Enjoy it with a chilled drink.
Potato Pepper Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 5 medium Irish Potatoes
- 300g fresh fish (head and tail only)
- 10 medium mushrooms
- 1 red onion
- 2 habanero peppers
- 1 teaspoon ground ehu (Calabash Nutmeg)
- 1 big stock cube
- Black pepper
- 5 scent leaves
- 3 bay leaves (optional)
- Salt (to taste)
- Water.
Instructions
Preparations Before Cooking
- Peel the Irish Potatoes, rinse and cut into medium cubes.
- Cut the fish head and tail into sizeable chunks.
- Cut the habanero pepper into medium pieces.
- Cut each mushroom into 2 parts.
- Grind the ehu.
- Cut the onion into into thin slices along the bulb. This is so that when they heat up, they will add body to the pepper soup.
- Cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces.
Directions
- Pour a small quantity of water into a clean pot and set on the stove.
- The water should just cover the bottom of the pot. Apply medium heat.
- Add the ground ehu, black pepper and stock cube (crushed).Stir and gently place the pieces of fish in the pot.
- Once the bottom heats up, turn the fish around so that all sides will get some heating and become tough.
- .When the fish is well heated all over, remove them from the pot and add the potatoes.
- Add water to cover the potatoes, add the bay leaves and start cooking on high heat till the potatoes are cooked but not soft.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the fish (gently), the onions and habanero pepper and cook for 2 minutes.
- Then take out the fish again and add salt to taste. Note: we add the fish, take it out, add, take it out etc so that it does not scatter.
- Stir to make sure everything is incorporated.
