Edo black soup — Edo State, Nigeria

Edo black soup, known locally as omoebe, is a Nigerian soup named for the deep, near-black color it takes on from its leafy ingredients. It is built mainly on scent leaf, uziza leaf and bitter leaf, simmered together with beef, onion, crayfish powder, pepper and palm oil into a thick, richly seasoned soup usually eaten with a swallow such as pounded yam or eba. The soup is reported as a specialty of Edo State, in the south of Nigeria, where the combination of these three leaves is particularly associated with local cooking. It is served at home and at gatherings across the state, and is recognized within the wider landscape of Nigerian leaf soups alongside other regional versions built on different leaf combinations. To prepare it, beef is first boiled with onion and seasoning until tender, and the stock is kept. Palm oil is heated and combined with the beef stock, crayfish powder and pepper, then the bitter leaf, washed to reduce its natural bitterness, is added along with chopped uziza and scent leaves. The soup is simmered until it thickens and darkens, and it is typically finished without much further liquid so the leaves stay concentrated. Households vary the proportion of the three leaves according to taste, since uziza brings a peppery bite, scent leaf an aromatic sweetness and bitter leaf its namesake edge softened by washing. Some cooks add stockfish, dried fish or periwinkle alongside the beef, and the final color and thickness shift with how much palm oil and how many leaves are used relative to the stock.