Ebbeh (Cassava and Seafood Soup)
By Yewande Komolafe · 1 hour 5 minutes · 6 servings
A recipe by Yewande Komolafe from NYT Cooking: its ingredients and steps as published. The introduction, tips, photos and reader notes are on the original.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 15 minutes
- 🍳 Cook time: 50 minutes
- ⏱️ Total time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 (24-ounce) bag frozen cassava chunks, thawed, or 1 large fresh cassava
- 6 cups water, plus more as needed
- ¼ cup red palm oil (see Tip)
- 2 Scotch bonnet chiles, halved, seeds in or out (depending on heat preference)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed
- 1 ½ pounds kong (smoked catfish) or smoked whitefish, picked of skin and bones to yield 2 cups flaked meat (see Tip)
- ½ cup tamarind paste or 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate
- ½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves and stems (about 1 cup), chopped, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 limes), plus 1 lime cut into wedges
- 1 cup seafood stock or water
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 pound fresh lump crab meat
Directions
- Fill a medium bowl with tap water. If using frozen chunks, simply cut each piece in half and remove the fibrous, golden-hued thread. If using fresh cassava, trim off the ends with a sharp knife and slice cassava into 2-inch-thick rounds. Make a slit through the skin just deep enough for the knife to touch the white flesh. Peel off skin and discard. Halve each round, and remove the thread. Slice the cassava into 1-inch chunks and place in water as you go to keep them from turning brown.
- Transfer the cassava to a large pot, along with 6 cups water, the red palm oil, Scotch bonnets and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until cassava just begins to soften (a knife should barely go through), about 12 minutes. Continue to cook until cassava is translucent and the liquid begins to thicken with slow, simmering bubbles rising, about 15 minutes more. (The chunks should break apart easily.) Crush cassava pieces against the side of the pot to thicken the sauce into a porridge-like consistency.
- Stir in smoked fish, tamarind, half the cilantro and lime juice. Stir in the stock. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until the fish is just warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add shrimp and crab meat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp is bright pink and plump, 5 to 6 minutes. Taste and add salt, if necessary. Divide among shallow bowls, top with remaining cilantro and serve immediately with lime wedges for squeezing.
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