Efo Riro
A Yoruba leafy-green soup, genuinely distinct from the site's existing Egusi Soup: egusi is built on ground melon seeds as its primary thickener and body, while efo riro ('efo' meaning leafy greens, 'riro' meaning stirred) is a vegetable-forward soup with no ground-seed thickener at all, using tete (Amaranthus), Celosia, or spinach as the real star. A hybrid dish called efo elegusi combines both traditions, but true efo riro stays seed-free. Its real depth comes from red palm oil, not a neutral oil, and iru (fermented locust bean), which supplies a distinct umami funk that's frequently skipped in simplified versions outside Nigeria — leaving it out changes the dish's real character. The peppers are fried down in the palm oil until the oil visibly separates out before the greens go in only briefly at the end, kept from overcooking.
⚠ Contains: Fish, Shellfish. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 500g tete, spinach, or other leafy greens, chopped
- 3 red bell peppers (tatashe)
- 2 scotch bonnet chiles
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1/2 cup red palm oil
- 2 tbsp iru (fermented locust bean)
- 2 tbsp ground crayfish
- 200g smoked or dried fish, flaked
- 300g assorted meat (beef, tripe, or cow skin), cooked
Steps
- Blend the bell peppers, chiles, tomatoes, and half the onion.
- Heat the palm oil and fry the pepper blend down until the oil visibly separates and rises to the top.
- Stir in the iru, crayfish, smoked fish, and cooked meat, and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped greens and stir just until wilted, a few minutes only.
- Season with salt and serve with rice or swallow.