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Nigerian Okro Soup with Spinach and Shrimps

Course: Soup
Cuisine: African
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 260kcal
Savory traditional seafood stew made easily with layers of flavor in under an hour
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Ingredients

  • 3 maggi cubes or bouillon cubes, divided
  • ½ pound smoked turkey leg or wings
  • ½ tablespoon crushed red pepper optional
  • sea salt to taste
  • water
  • ½ pound smoked fish
  • ½ pound shrimp
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • ½ onion
  • 1 pound okra fresh or frozen
  • 2 tablespoons palm oil
  • ¼ cup crayfish
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 ½ cup spinach fresh and chopped or frozen and thawed

Instructions

Cooking the turkey

  • Crush maggi cubes into powder form and add one third to a small saucepan with turkey, crushed red pepper, and salt. Pour in enough water to cover the turkey and cook over medium heat for about thirty minutes. This step can be done more quickly in a pressure cooker, if needed.
  • When finished cooking, shred turkey meat from the bone and set aside. Reserve two cups of the cooking water. Meanwhile, prepare the remaining soup ingredients.

Soup Ingredient Prep

  • Debone and wash the dried fish thoroughly and set aside. Remove shells and tails from shrimp and clean.
  • Cut onion and bell pepper into chunks and pulse in a blender or food processor to form a puree.
  • Wash okra, pat dry, and divide in half. With one half, cut off and discard the tops then slice the okra into thin rounds. Set aside.
  • Add remaining okra to a blender or food processor with a splash of water and pulse until a puree forms (about 20 seconds). The puree should be very thick and sticky. This is good!

Cooking the soup

  • Add palm oil to a large pot over medium-high heat and warm it through (about two minutes). Add onion and pepper puree to hot oil and cook until fragrant and slightly thickened (about 5 minutes).
  • Add turkey meat, reserved cooking water, smoked fish, remaining crushed maggi, and crayfish to pot and stir to combine.
  • Reduce heat to medium and vigorously stir in okra puree until uniform. The puree will meld with the other ingredients the more you stir it and the more it warms up.
  • Add in sliced okra and shrimps. Cook until shrimps are opaque and have a bright coral color (about three minutes).
  • Taste the soup then add salt and pepper to preference. Stir in the spinach, breaking up any chunks, then soup remove from heat and serve.

Notes

Grab a sharp knife and cutting board to prepare your produce. I slice okra by hand for soup but you can also use a mandolin or food processor. You'll also need a blender or food processor to puree some of the okra. Pull out both a large pot and a small saucepan, as well as a wooden cooking spoon.
How to store? Refrigerate extra okro soup in an airtight container. It will keep for up to seven days this way.
Can I freeze it? Alternatively, you can freeze okro soup for up to three months. I recommend dividing into serving size portions in freezer bags or airtight containers for easy reheating.

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 825mg | Potassium: 880mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3132IU | Vitamin C: 69mg | Calcium: 142mg | Iron: 3mg