EFO RIRO

Efo
Efo Riro
 Summary:
Efo riro is a very rich vegetable soup that is native to the Yorubas of western Nigeria. The vegetables that can be used to cook this soup are water leaves and pumpkin leaves. If these are not available where you live, frozen spinach is a very good sustitute.
However, if you want the authentic efo riro you should add tomatoes to yours. Personally, I don't like tomatoes in any soup that I'll use to eat swallow. You can add tomotoes to make the soup deep red. Who tomato don epp? (Lol)
Ingredients:
• Assorted meat and fish. For my efo riro I use:
- beef
- shaki
- smoked fish
- dry fish
- stock fish
• Palm oil (20cl)
• Frozen spinach (1kg)
• Crayfish (1 handful)
• Onions (1 medium bulb)
• 3 big stock cubes (spinach needs more seasoning)
• Salt to taste.
 We yorubas love to feel the taste of meat at every morsel we swallow. So the more variety of meats and fish you can add to efo riro, the better. Feel free to add snails, ponmo, kanda and so on.

Directions for preparation:
• Soak the stockfish and dry fish for a few hours. The length of time depends on how hard the stock fish is. Mine soaks in less than 1 hour. When soft, clean the fish, remove the bones and separate them into small pieces.
• Cut the frozen spinach and wring out the excess water when fully defrosted.
• Prepare other ingredients: pound the pepper, cut the onions,grind the cray fish.

Cooking Directions:
• Start cooking the shaki first with as little water as possible as it is the toughest meat in the bunch, this soup should have as little water as possible, so add small amounts of water at a time and top it as you cook.
• When the shaki starts to curl, add the dry fish and stock fish
• When the shaki is almost done, add beef, stock cubes and onions and cook till all the meat and fish are well done.
• Top up the water to about half the contents of the pots. Add the crayfish, smoked fish, pepper and palm oil. Some will actually prefer to bleach the oil and fry the pepper. It works both ways too.
• Cover the pot and cook at high heat.
• Add the spinach, or any other soft vegetable, pumpkin, waterleaves.
• Cover and cook till it gets a good boil. Take care not to overcook the vegetables.
• Add salt to taste and leave it to simmer for 2 more minutes.
• Serve Efo riro with semolina, Amala, pounded yam, fufu.
• Edakun, don't eat alone. Invite me. (Lol)
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