Nsala soup — Nigeria

Nsala soup, also called ofe nsala or white soup, is a catfish soup recognized by its pale, light color, a direct result of leaving palm oil out of the pot. Yam or cocoyam stands in as the thickener that a red soup would normally get from ground seeds or starch-heavy pastes, giving the broth a creamy, light body. It is reported from the eastern part of Nigeria, in Ala Igbo territory, where it is prepared as a delicacy rather than an everyday soup, often for guests or particular occasions. A related soup, afia efere, is common among the Efik people and shares the same pale, palm-oil-free approach. Catfish is the defining protein, seasoned lightly and set aside while yam or cocoyam is boiled soft and mashed directly into the cooking liquid to thicken it. The fish then simmers gently in this base along with ground crayfish, scotch bonnet pepper and stock, with utazi leaves — sliced thin for their sharp, slightly bitter edge — added right at the end so they keep their bite. Cooks vary the soup mainly through the ratio of yam to cocoyam, the amount of pepper, and how finely the utazi is cut, but they keep the same core choice: no palm oil, a fish-forward broth, and a starchy vegetable doing the thickening instead of oil or seeds.