From The Nigerian Kitchen.

Sometimes you may want to cook and eat a certain food but the way you prepare it may begin to bore you. Example you eat rice either as rice and stew or jollof rice or fried rice. No other format.

On a certain day, I wanted to eat macaroni cause it’s been a while, but I didn’t want the regular macaroni and stew or jollof macaroni, so I created a nice recipe for myself.

Ingredients:

·        macaroni

·        chicken meat/beef/frozen fish/stockfish/smoked fish/goat meat (which ever suits you)

·        palm oil

·        nchanwu a.k.a. efirin or scent leaf

·        pepper

·        crayfish

·        onions

·        tomato

·        ginger

·        thyme, nutmeg (spices)

·        salt and seasoning

·        utazi (this is optional)

Please note: all quantities depend on number of people to be served.

Preparation:

·        Spice up the chicken meat/fish/goat meat (which ever you are using) with onions, nutmeg, thyme, a little pepper, seasoning and salt to taste and boil.

·        While it’s cooking blend the pepper (in sizeable quantity), crayfish, onions, ginger, utazi and tomatoes (2 or 3).

·        Shred the nchanwu.

·        When the meat is ready, bring it out and cool a bit, then cut into small chewable bits and pour back into the stock.

·        Add half the quantity of water you are going to use to boil the macaroni, pour in palm oil enough to thinly cover just the surface area of the water in the pot and allow to boil.

·        In another pot, boil the macaroni with very little salt added.

·        Add the blended pepper mixture to the boiling meat and stir. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes.

·        Drain the macaroni which should now be a bit soft and put it into the boiling soup and spread evenly in it. You may add more water to make sure all of the macaroni and meat is covered by the soup.

·        Add the nchanwu and any seasoning of your choice and salt to taste and stir. Let it boil for 3 – 5 minutes.

Your macaroni pepper soup is ready to be served, HOT!

Hope you enjoy it the way I enjoyed mine. *winks*