Most ladies always pick rice as favorite food and I don't know why, but for me my favorite food has got to be bitterleaf and akpu (also known as fufu). Thinking about this food makes my mouth water.
I'm sure I've been eating bitterleaf soup right from small but when I really picked it as my favorite food was when I was 7 years old. We went to visit my grandmother and she cooked it for us. I really enjoyed eating it that day, my mom cooks it but everyone knows that grandma's cooking is always sweeter than mom's cooking. The slight bitterness of the bitterleaf was balanced by the meat and fish.
One thing that makes me love bitterleaf soup so much is that it brings my family together. Whenever we have any special occasions, it's what my mom prepares for us. Watching my grandma or my mom washing the bitterleaf to extract the excess bitterness is something I can't forget, to me it's stressful to wash bitterleaf and I have reactions after washing bitterleaf. But it's something I can endure as long as I am cooking my favorite dish.
I would absolutely recommend bitterleaf and akpu or any swallow of your house to others. The bitter notes might be surprising at first, but they quickly become addictive. Plus, bitterleaf is packed with nutrients, making this a delicious and healthy meal.
Ingredients:
**Bitterleaf (wash until it's no longer bitter)
Cocoyam (this will act as thickener)
Pepper
Oil
Ogiri
Meat, dry fish, stock fish and crayfish
Maggi and salt to taste
For your akpu: you only need processed cassava
Steps to cooking the soup:
Boil your cocoyam and pound till smooth and sticky.
Boil your meat with stockfish, add Maggi and salt.
When your meat is ready, add cocoyam and let it boil till it melts in the pot.
After that, you add your pounded pepper, crayfish and ogiri, don't forget your dry fish. Adjust your seasoning then add oil.
Let it cook for sometime and add your bitterleaf, allow to for 15minutes then your soup is ready.
To make akpu:
Get a pot and add your akpu in it, add water and put on fire. Let it boil and then turn it, add water again and allow to boil then turn it again. Repeat this process till the akpu is ready.
Then serve with your bitterleaf and enjoy.**
Whether you're Nigerian or not, I hope you'll give bitterleaf soup and akpu( it's not compulsory you take akpu, you can take it with eba, pupuru or pounded yam) a try.
Feel free to participate using this link here
Images are screenshots on my phone