Liberian Pepper Soup

Nothing says fall and winter better than soups and stews!  My family loves trying recipes from all over the world. I like the fact that my kids are pretty open to anything I decide to make for them. It is also fun to explain to them how other cultures can use foods in a way different from us. I absolutely love this soup. It is amazing. Rich flavor, full and hearty. It is truly a win.

About a year ago, I traveled to Chicago on business. My client is Liberian and upon learning that, I was inquiring about authentic Liberian food. She told me of Pepper Soup and decided that I had to try it. When I first tasted it, I knew I had to learn this recipe. She was nice enough to not only share the recipe with me, but called her sister over to show me step by step.

Although a year later, I finally made it myself.  It is a hearty soup, with a base of okra and eggplant. It is full of different types of meats. When my client made it for me, she included snail meat and  fish. I can do without the fish and did not have time to clean snails, so I left those out of the soup I made.

It is not the easiest to photograph and looks like a hodgepodge of things but if you are like me and love to try different foods, this is definitely an easy one to make and so good!

You will need:

3-4 smoked neckbones
1 smoked turkey wing or leg
1 bag of mussels (cleaned, steamed and deshelled)
2 cups of cooked shrimp
3 medium crabs or crab legs
1 large eggplant (sliced into chunks)
2 1/2 cups of frozen or fresh okra
3 tbsp of Knorr Chicken bouillon

Optional
Fish (rainbow trout, cod)
Snail meat
Lime
Habanero pepper

Fufu or rice

Fill large pot with water and add in your chicken bouillon. Add in your smoked turkey and neckbone and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 20 minutes or more, until meat is tender. Add in your okra and eggplant and cook for about 20 more minutes until they are tender. Remove the meat and sit aside. Remove the okra and eggplant and you can blend in food blender/processor until  smooth and blended. Pour okra and eggplant back into the soup stock. Pull the meat from the turkey and place back in the pot, discarding the bones.

On low heat, add in your shrimp and mussels. Cook for an hour on low. Serve with a squeeze of lime, habanero for spice and fufu or rice.  Find an easy recipe for fufu here if you are unable to get fufu mix.