Nigerian Egusi Soup

Pour boiling water over the dried fish and stockfish and let soak for 10–30 minutes until softened; remove the bones and break into large pieces.

Put the beef, half the onion, 1 L water, dried fish, stockfish and salt into a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 35–45 minutes, until the meat is tender.

Remove the meat and fish from the broth. Add the ground dried shrimp and chopped hot pepper to the broth. If there isn't much liquid left, top up with the remaining water.

Stir the ground egusi seeds into the hot broth in batches, stirring constantly. Cover and cook over low heat for about 25 minutes, occasionally scraping the bottom gently with a spatula; the mixture should thicken and form soft lumps.

Pour in the red palm oil, add the remaining onion and cook for another 7 minutes, until the oil blends into the egusi and rises to the surface.

Return the beef, dried fish and stockfish to the pot, add the chopped spinach and cook for 8–10 minutes, until the leaves wilt.

Taste, season with salt to taste, remove from the heat and let the soup rest for 5 minutes; serve hot with eba, fufu or pounded yam.