If you have been visiting my blog here or a follower on Instagram, you will know by now that Ghanaians love their soups. A good meal by Ghanaian standards will usually be a hearty soup with some carbohydrates fufu. Interestingly for me, I have never been able to eat fufu after the 1983 famine in Ghana. I’ll save the details of this story for another post. But for me, my go-to carbohydrate for a hearty soup is rice balls, see here for the recipe.

Today I share with you this hearty, earthy, nutty and fragrant groundnut soup. The main ingredient which the soup takes its name from is groundnut paste. Please it is not the peanut butter paste used as spreads. The spreads are too sugary and don’t give the good authentic and traditional taste required for this soup. I recommend you make your groundnut paste which is super easy to make. Alternatively, you can get a ready-made one from a good Asian or African shop.

To make your own, roast red skin peanuts, as described in the post here. Use a mill to grind the nuts into a smooth paste and that’s all you need to do for a good quality groundnut paste. Traditionally, Ghanaians prefer using tougher chicken for soups hence the use of the broiler chicken.

Broiler chickens are tastier and can withstand the long simmering process of soup-making without the flesh melting or going too soft. You can use normal chicken but will need to reduce the cooking time or remove the chicken from the soup during the simmering process. Do try this soup and always always, I love to have your feedback and do share some photos too! Enjoy this hearty soup!

Akoko Nkate Nkwan (Chicken Groundnut Soup)

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Ingredients

1 Medium size Broiler Chicken
1 Chicken Stock Cube Seasoning
1/2 fresh lemon
2 tbsp combination of thyme, Star Arnise,
Aniseed (nkitinkiti), Rosemary & Cloves)
2 White Onions (Medium sizes
180 g Fresh Ginger (about the length of the index finger)
3 Gloves of Garlic
1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper (or to your taste)
3 TomatoeTomatoes on the vine (Medium sizes)s on the vine (Medium sizes)
8 tbsp Groundnut Paste (not the spread)
Water – about 3 litres
Salt to taste
couple of Basil leaves (akoko mesa)
A couple of coloured peppers like scotch bonnet and kpakposhito (Optional)

Instructions

Cut up chicken into medium sizes, clean with lemon juice. Rinse again and place in a soup cooking pot (a deep soup pot is recommended).
Blend one onion, ½ of the ginger, chicken stock cube and 3 gloves of garlic together. Use a little bit of water to help with the blending.
Add the spice blend, a teaspoon of salt, to the onion mixture stir and add to the chicken.
Let the chicken marinate for some couple of hours, best left overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to cook, place the other onion, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and scotch bonnet pepper on top of the chicken. Always allow refrigerated meat/chicken products to come to room temperature before cooking.
Now place the pot on the hob on medium heat. Cover the pot and let the meat simmer in its own natural juices until nice and tender. You may not need to add extra, however, keep an eye on it to prevent burning. If the chicken is tough, add extra water if needed.
When the tomatoes and onions are soft, remove, together with the ginger and pepper. Blend all together.
Add the blended mixture to the soup, stir, rinse the blender with a bit of water, and add to the pot. Cover and let it boil for about 15 minutes. Do this stage when the chicken is tender.
Add the groundnut paste and stir.
Add 2 litres of water to the soupand stir.
Turn up the heat and let the soup boil. Do not cover the pot at this stage. As the soup boils, it will foam up and rise to the top. That is why you don’t cover it and you need a deep soup pot to prevent over spill. A cooking tip here to help de-foam is to stir!
When the soup has simmered down, turn down the heat and half cover the pot. Let it continue to simmer. A layer of oil will begin to form on the top of the soup.
Check the seasoning and add a bit of salt if needed. Usually, the seasoning from the chicken will be enough, however, if this is not the case, add a bit of the spice blend to add more flavor if needed. Getting the salt to the right level brings out the flavor so do make sure the level of salt is right first.
Three tips to check that the soup is cooked are: A) the soup simmers down, this is noticeable by the mark left from the original level of soup. B) A layer of oil is formed on the surface of the soup. C) The soup thickens and when taken off the heat and allowed to cooldown, it doesn’t separate into a distinct layer of water and soup.
When you tick the boxes for the above tips, then your soup is ready to be served. Add the basil leaves and let them boil for a couple of minutes. Add some colored peppers like kpakposhito and scotch bonnet for a more infused flavor.
Skim off excess oil and serve soup hot with fufu, boiled rice, rice balls, boiled yams, boiled potatoes, boiled ripe plantains, or bread, or can be eaten on its own.