Nigerian Inspired Pepper Soup
Hey my loves!! I feel like we haven’t chatted in a forever since the holidays. How have y’all been?? Well, your girl has been a little under the weather and trying to get my life since Thanksgiving is finally over (THANK GOD!) and my house guests are gone (HALLELUJAH). I woke up yesterday with a little itch in my throat so I immediately went to my fridge to see what veggies were on their way out so that I could whip me up a quick soup. Once I got started my “quick” soup ended up taking 2 hours to make since I really wanted all of my flavors to pop, and BOY do they pop. In short this soup is happiness in a bowl for me, I can’t help but smile with every bite. Besides tasting AHHMAZING it’s super easy to make and it’s worth every second of waiting, not to mention it will clear your nasal passages all the way out and soothe a sore throat like no other. You can serve this soup with rice or add potatoes. I decided to give an African favorite fufu a try and all I can say about that is YES LORD *does praise dance around kitchen* so if you have an international market near you I definitely recommend giving it a try because it will change your life. Also this is a spicy dish so, if spice isn’t your think I would recommend only using 1 scotch bonnet pepper or even try taking the seeds out to tone down the heat.
Of course when you guys try this out be sure to comment below or tag me in your pics on Instagram and follow me while you’re a it (if you’re not already). I’ll be peeping back into your inbox soon I have 12 days of Christmas coming up where I will be sharing all of my holiday drinks, apps, and brunch favs. Until next time my babies **kisses**
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
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- 1 1/2 lbs chicken
- 3 scotch bonnet peppers thinly sliced
- 2-3 tbsp EVOO
- 4 stalks celery diced
- 2 red onion roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 6-8 cups water
- 2 Bay leaves
- Spices:
- 3-4 tbsp Knorr chicken bouillon
- 3-4 Whole cloves or 1 tsp ground cloves
- 3 whole Allspice berries or 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp Berbere
- 1/2 tbsp Hungarian paprika
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- cracked pepper
- 1 lb carrots
- 2 large tomatoes quartered
- handful fresh parsley
Ingredients
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- Clean and season chicken with spices(excluding whole allspice berries and whole cloves) and set aside. Heat EVOO in large pot over medium/medium-high heat and once pot is hot add chicken and brown on each side. Remove from pan and add celery, red onion, and scotch bonnet peppers. Sauté for 5 minutes and add garlic and chicken back to the pan. Add 2-3 tbsp of chicken bouillon, water, rosemary, thyme, allspice berries, cloves, and bay leaves. Stir and cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours or until chicken is tender and falling off of bone.
- During the last hour add tomatoes and carrots to oven safe dish and drizzle with 1 tbsp of EVOO, roast uncovered in oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender and lightly charred.
- Add carrots, tomatoes, and fresh parsley to blender with 2-1/2 cups of broth from soup and blend until smooth. Stir this mixture in with soup until fully incorporated. Simmer for additional 30 minutes and serve over rice or enjoy on its own.
You can use any protein you like or any part of the chicken. I used wings because it's my favorite and I prefer using chicken with bones in my soups it always helps add extra flavor.
I also used a little duck fat when searing my chicken so if you have some on hand, use it!
If you have an immersion blender you can add your tomatoes and carrots to the pot with the rest of the veggies and just blend it right in the pot once your soup is done cooking.