Bowl of dried leafy greens beside African Farm & Gardens packaging on a wooden surface

Soups

Ogbono Soup with Goat

Name: Ogbono Soup with Goat
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: West African
Ingredients: 100g AFG Ogbono (African mango flour); 800g goat meat on the bone; 100ml AFG Red Palm Oil; 2 tbsp AFG Dry Crayfish (Oporo), ground; 1 tbsp AFG Iru (locust beans); 1 AFG Scotch Bonnet pepper, blended; 200g bitter leaf or spinach, washed; 1 litre stock from the goat; Salt and stock cube, to taste

Ground African mango seed gives this soup its unmistakable draw. Slow-cooked goat, palm oil and bitter leaf do the rest.

Ogbono thickens differently to every other soup — it draws. The trick is to bloom the ground seed in hot palm oil before any liquid goes near it, and then never let the pot come to a hard boil.

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 1 hr 15 mins
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Method

Season the goat and simmer with a little onion and salt for 45–60 minutes, until tender. Reserve every drop of the stock.
Warm the palm oil in a wide pot over low heat until it just loosens.
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the ogbono a little at a time, working it into the oil until you have a smooth, glossy paste with no dry pockets.
Return to low heat and add the stock gradually, stirring constantly. The soup will thicken and begin to draw.
Add the crayfish, iru, blended pepper and the cooked goat. Season.
Simmer gently — never a rolling boil — for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so it does not catch.
Stir in the washed greens, cook for 3 more minutes and serve straight away with pounded yam or amala.

Cooking tips

A hard boil breaks the draw. Keep it at a lazy simmer throughout.
If the soup thickens more than you want, loosen it with hot stock — never cold water.
Bitter leaf must be washed thoroughly; taste a leaf before it goes in.

AFG Products Used

Everything you need from our range

Flours

Ogbono African Mango Flour

Ground African mango (bush mango) seed — the classic thickener for rich, drawing soups.

100g250g500g

Palm Oil

Red Palm Oil

Unrefined red palm oil — the colour and body behind banga, efo and bean porridge.

500ml

African Farm & Gardens Dry Crayfish (Oporo) 100g pack front label

New

Livestock Produce

Dry Crayfish Oporo

The larger oporo prawn, dried whole for a bolder, sweeter depth.

100g

Spices & Seasonings

Iru Locust Beans, Dry

Fermented locust beans — the deep, savoury note behind traditional soups.

100g

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