African · Lunch · Dinner
Nigerian Catfish Pepper Soup
Point and Kill Pepper Soup
A fiery, aromatic broth infused with traditional pepper soup spices, ginger and Scotch bonnet, with tender chunks of catfish gently poached in it. It is light, warming and deeply savoury, with no added oil.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 11% · Fat 40% · Protein 49%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 800 g (about 8 steaks)Catfish steaks, bone-in, cleaned
- 1 medium110 gOnion
- 220 gScotch bonnet peppers
- 3 cloves9 gGarlic
- 1 thumb-sized piece15 gFresh ginger
- 2 tbsp12 gNigerian pepper soup spice blend
- 2 tbsp12 gGround dried crayfish
- 1 large handful15 gScent leaves (or fresh basil)
- 1 tsp6 gSalt
- 6 cups1,500 gWater
Steps
- 1
Rinse the catfish steaks well under cold running water and set them aside in a bowl.
- 2
Cut the onion in half; slice one half thinly and roughly chop the other.
- 3
Blend the chopped onion half, Scotch bonnets, garlic and ginger with 1/2 cup of the water until smooth.
- 4
Pour the rest of the water into a large pot and bring it to a boil.
- 5
Stir in the blended pepper paste, sliced onion, pepper soup spice and ground crayfish.
- 6
Simmer the broth uncovered for 10 minutes so the spices release their flavour.
- 7
Lower the catfish into the broth in a single layer.
- 8
Cover and simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes without stirring, so the fish stays whole; shake the pot occasionally instead.
- 9
Check the fish is cooked through: it should flake easily and reach 63 °C / 145 °F at the thickest part.
- 10
Season with the salt, then taste and adjust.
- 11
Tear in the scent leaves, simmer for 2 more minutes and serve hot.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Use fresh basil instead of scent leaves if you cannot find them at an African grocer.
- Swap the catfish for bone-in chicken thighs or goat meat, simmering until fully cooked through before adding the leaves.
- Use 1 Scotch bonnet with its seeds removed instead of 2 for a milder broth.
- Replace the catfish with firm white fish steaks such as tilapia or hake, and shorten the simmer slightly so they do not fall apart.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate leftovers in a covered container within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating gently until steaming hot. The fish turns soft and breaks up if frozen, so this is best not frozen.
Make ahead
Blend the pepper paste up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, or make the spiced broth a day ahead, then bring it back to a simmer and poach the fish just before serving.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: FishCrustaceans
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (625 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 238 kcal | 38 kcal |
| Protein | 28.4 g | 4.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 6.4 g | 1 g |
| of which sugars | 1.5 g | 0.2 g |
| Fiber | 1.5 g | 0.2 g |
| Fat | 10.4 g | 1.7 g |
| of which saturated | 2.3 g | 0.4 g |
| Sodium | 832 mg | 133 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
