I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several food events and expos around Europe in the last few months. Although networking and tasting all the various types of cuisine is already a lot of fun at these events, I am always intrigued by the interaction between food loving people and vendors who sell their food with so much love and passion. I decided to introduce Ataro Food and Spices at these events, so that I could interact with the Dutch foodie audience, on my quest to bring the colors, joy and flavors of West African cuisine to Europe.

As we set up our Ataro stand, I could see all the hundreds of people walking onto the event grounds. It was a sunny day in Amsterdam and I was excited to spread the joy of our cuisine with all these people. Our fried plantain and Jollof rice were putting smiles on everyone’s face and I could sense that people were falling in love with our food. You see, from time to time I hear people say that most West African dishes are quite spicy. Across Europe this was mentioned a few times and so we decided to leave out our super sizzling hot dishes at these mainstream festivals. What surprised me, however, is that some people were asking for even spicier dishes!

To make it up to all the people who love spicy food I’m sharing a traditional recipe with you today for Nigerian Pepper Soup. This recipe is not only a beautiful blend of spices that Ataro has put together for your ease of cooking, but it is also a very versatile recipe, as you can easily change the fish (main) ingredient that I used in my recipe and substitute it with beef or vegetables. The base of this soup is an aromatic blend of spices with fresh basil for garnishing. This dish is a traditional Nigerian feast at any dining table or parties! It is perfect for the cold season. This hot soup can quickly warm you up and also ease nasal congestion.

Recipe: Fish Pepper Soup

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

4-6 servings

Ingredients

3 cuts of fresh fish
2 table spoon West African pepper blend
1 Ataro Pepper Soup Spice mix
2 table spoon ground Crayfish or prawn
2 cups of water
1 seasoning cube
salt to taste
fresh basil for garnishing

Directions

Wash fish under cold running water with salt or lemon juice
Put water in a clean pot and heat up over medium heat
Add the seasoning, crayfish, pepper blend and pepper soup spice
Bring the mixture to boil and add the fish cuts
Cook until the fish is well done
Garnish with fresh basil

Tips

§ If you want to go for an extra spicy option you can use a Scotch Bonnet Pepper as well