EDITAN SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups pounded Editan

Meat

Snail optional

Ponmo (Cow skin)

½ small onions chopped

Stockfish head washed

1 ½ cups Periwinkle

e/Isam In shell

6 tablespoons ground crayfish

Dry fish washed

1 cup Palm oil

fresh pepper

4 seasoning cubes

4 cups Shredded Waterleaf

INSTRUCTIONS

Using a mortar and pestle, pound shredded editan leaves or grind using a food processor or dry mill of a blender.

Place ground editan leaves into a bowl and add boiling water, enough to adequately cover it. Leave to stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile place meat, ponmo and snails in a medium pot over medium-high heat, season with salt and one seasoning cube, add chopped onions and little water, cover and cook until meat, ponmo and snails have softened.

After 10 minutes, drain editan leaves using a chiffon cloth. Squeeze well to remove as much water as possible, rinse in cold water, drain and squeeze well again, set aside.

Using a big knife cut off the tails of the periwinkle (or use a clean plier). Wash in several changes of water until the water is clear.

Rinse and add stockfish and cleaned periwinkle-in-shell (see below) to the boiling meat and cook for 10 minutes.

Add crayfish, dryfish, palmoil, fresh pepper and three seasoning cubes. Stir, cover and cook until oil doesn't taste raw.

Add waterleaf, cook for five minutes.

Sprinkle in the editan, cover and shake the pot, cook for five minutes.

Stir, taste and correct seasoning.

Cover and cook for five minutes and take off the heat.

Serve with swallow of choice.

NOTES

If using dry Editan, sprinkle a little water on the dry shredded leaves and pound in a mortar or use the dry mill of your blender.

Since it's a mud creeper, there's usually quite some sand and mud on the shell. It, therefore, needs to be thoroughly washed off. To avoid this, you can use shelled periwinkle.