Ndole (Cameroonian Bitter Leaf and Peanut Soup)
Ndole is a popular traditional soup recipe in Cameroon that is made with the combination of spinach and bitter leaves as well as crayfish, shrimp, and beef. It is also a recipe for ceremony.[1]
Total Time
1 hour
Servings
5–6
½ pound stew beef, diced
Salt
2 tablespoons maggi (stock cube)
3 large onion, sliced
½ pound stockfish (optional)
2 cups shelled and peeled peanuts
4–5 cloves garlic
¾ cup ground crayfish
1 pound bitter leaves or spinach
2–3 cups oil
½ pound shrimp
Season the beef in a big pot with salt, maggi, and one-third of the onions, then boil until the meat is soft.
In the meantime, boil the stockfish with salt and water, then add it to the cooked beef. From the meat and stockfish you should get roughly 3 cups. Freeze or reserve the remainder.
In a saucepan, boil the peanuts for around 10 minutes. Let it cool before pulsing or mixing it in a blender. Add to the meat and stockfish mixture.
10 minutes
Grind half the remaining onion and garlic to a paste, then stir into the meat and peanut mixture.
Add the crayfish, then boil it for 10 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Season with salt and maggi to taste. Later, you might need to add more.
10 minutes
Add spinach or bitter leaves to the soup. Stir and continue to simmer for few minutes.
Heat the oil in a frying pan while the ndole is simmering. Add the shrimp and stir continuously until they start to turn pink. Add all the remaining onions and stir again for a few more minutes.
Add the shrimp and onion mixture to the soup pot, and stir continuously for about 2 minutes
2 minutes
Serve hot.[2]