Ghanaian Light Soup

Method

1. Cut the chicken into large pieces (about 5 cm), rinse and pat dry. Put it in a 20 cm pot with half the onion (chopped), the grated ginger and garlic, the salt and the crumbled stock cube. Mix with your hands so every piece is coated, cover and let the chicken steam in its own juices on medium-low heat for 12 min, stirring once halfway. It will release liquid and smell fragrant; this step builds the flavour of the whole soup.

   Add in this stepBone-in chicken (thighs and drumsticks) 500 gOnion ½Fresh ginger 10 gGarlic cloves 2Salt 1 tspChicken stock cube 1

   medium-low heat

2. Add the whole tomatoes, the remaining half onion in one piece, the pepper (whole, stem removed) and a quarter of the water. Cover and boil on medium heat for 10 min, until the tomato skins split and the onion is soft.

   Add in this stepMedium tomatoes 3Onion ½Scotch bonnet pepper (or habanero) 1Water 225 ml

   medium heat

3. Lift the tomatoes, onion and pepper into a blender with a ladle of broth and blend until completely smooth. Fill the blender no more than half full with hot food and hold the lid down with a towel. Pour the purée back into the pot through a sieve, pressing with a spoon, and discard the seeds and skins left behind. Sieving is what gives light soup its clear, silky body. Don't touch your eyes after handling the pepper.

4. Stir in the tomato paste and the rest of the water. Bring to the boil on high heat, then turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered for 22 min, skimming off any foam. It is ready when the chicken is tender enough to pull from the bone and the broth is orange-red and very slightly thickened.

   Add in this stepTomato paste 1½ tbspWater 675 ml

   high heat→medium-low heat

5. Taste and add a little more salt if needed. The chicken must be cooked through with no pink at the bone (75 °C inside). Serve piping hot in bowls with fufu, omo tuo (rice balls), plain rice or kenkey.