Ofe Owerri (Owerri-Style Assorted Meat Soup with Cocoyam)

How to Make It

1. 1

   Season goat meat with salt, one seasoning cube, and sliced onion. Cook in a pressure cooker for 25 minutes or a regular pot for 55 minutes until tender. Add snails in the last 20 minutes of cooking.

2. 2

   In a separate pot, combine the soaked stockfish and dried catfish with the goat meat stock. Top up with water to about 1 litre and bring to a simmer.

3. 3

   Add the palm oil, blended scotch bonnet, ogiri igbo, crayfish, and remaining seasoning cube. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Shape small balls of the pounded cocoyam paste and drop gently into the simmering soup. Do not stir yet — allow the heat to dissolve them into the soup naturally over 15 minutes, then stir in.

5. 5

   Add the cooked goat meat and snails to the soup. Taste for seasoning and adjust. The soup should be thick and clingy — if too thick, add a little hot water.

6. 6

   Add the uziza leaves first as they need slightly longer — stir in and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the torn oha leaves, stir once, and take the pot off the heat. The residual heat will finish the leaves without destroying their colour and nutrients.

7. 7

   Serve immediately with pounded yam, fufu, or starch.