Tomato Pepper Soup (light soup)

Rainy season is always an inspiration for hot or spicy food, Tomato Pepper Soup. Weather predictions shows that it is that time of the year in Nigeria when we should expect a lot of wet and cold days. Those days when you just feel like curling back to sleep as you hear the splattering on the roof at 6 am. As I write this piece at 7 am, I wish I could go back to bed and be woken up with a hot bowl of soup.
Tomato Pepper soup is such a simple meal that the even  the apprentice in the kitchen will serve up a chef’s standard meal.
I advice on freshly ground tomato and pepper as this affects the taste of the soup . Previously boiled tomato/ pepper mix in the freezer will not give the same result.

Agidi or Eko could be quite bland , so again in the spirit of “spiciness”..if there is such a word..:) , I added some grated dried ginger to the pap and the result is amazing . Also my creative side kicked in as I did some white corn and millet Ogi combo. I set this in an iced tray and voila, Agidi wears a new look.
Cooking just takes some imagination and you can create a feast out of simple ingredients. This is  the type of cook the Yorubas in Nigeria ,call “olowo shibi”..woman with hand of a spoon…my Yoruba readers please be merciful……always so difficult to back translate Nigerian language to English.

Nutritip: Tomatoes come  naturally low in sodium, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. Tomatoes also provide thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, all of which are necessary for good health.

Recipe for tomato pepper soup ( serves 4)

2 large slices Tilapia fish( sliced in halves)
4 pieces  ground Tomatoes
4 pieces  groundScotch bonnet Pepper (increase quantity as desired)
1 small sized Onion( 1/2 ground,1/2chopped)
Few leaves of Basil (Curry leaves can be used as alternative)
1/2 tablet crayfish seasoning
2 cups water
Salt to taste
1 tsp Ginger powder

Method
1. Season fish with salt , a little ginger powder and some crayfish seasoning
2. Blend tomatoes, pepper and onion and bring to boil with 1cup of water
3. Add the chopped onion, seasoning and salt to taste.
4. Taste the soup to ensure the acidic taste of tomato disappears
5. Add the remaining water and  bring to boil again.
6. Lower the heat and add the fish and cook for 10 minutes. You get will have that soft texture of fresh fish if fish is cooked slowly .
7. To get sauce well infused into the fish, just shake the pot. Stirring will break up the fish.
8. Taste for salt , garnish with Basil and serve hot  with your Agidi or a few cubes of boiled yam.