Palmnut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 salted pig's foot, jointed and cleaned. optional
- 2 giant crabs cooked whole in salted water, drained, and cut in half
- ½ cup cold water
- 2 pounds(1kg) lean lamb shanks or chops, or shoulder of beef cut into chunks
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large yellow onions minced
- 3 large tomatoes blanched peeled, and pureed
- 1½ pounds palmnut pulp
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2-3 fresh red chile peppers, ground or
- 2 whole habanero chiles optional
- 4 large mushrooms cleaned
- 2 pounds(1kg) fish fillets or cutlets smoked, grilled, deep-fried or sundried
- Potato dumplings
Instructions
- Remove the stomach flaps on the underside of the crabs and then cut them in half, from top to bottom.
- Place the water, the meat, and the pig's foot in a large, heavy-based pan (not a crackpot, becuase the initial cooking process requires fairly high heat, which a crockpot does not provide).
- Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the onions and cook "dry" on high heat, stirring continuously, until the outside of the meat is sealed and browned on all sides.
- Add the tomatoes, reduce heat, and continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the palmnut pulp with the boiling water, beating with a wooden spoon to form a creamy, smooth consistency.
- Add this to the meat mixture, as well as the ground chiles, mushrooms, and crabs.
- Simmer on medium heat for 40 minutes to 1 hour, stirring only occasionally to keep food from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Prepare your choice of fish by removing any residual bones.
- Add the fish to the soup, either whole or in chunks, during the last 20 minutes of cooking to prevent the fish from breaking up too much and becoming mushy.
- Once you add all the ingredients, continue to simmer until the meat is tender.
- Serve hot with the dumplings.
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