What Is Pepper Soup, and How Do You Make It?
Pepper soup is a light, hot, deeply aromatic broth: a thin peppery stock loaded with warming spices and served with fish, chicken, goat or beef. It is a West African classic, cooked as comfort food and often eaten when someone is under the weather because it is so warming.
What makes it work is the spice blend. Get that right and the rest is just simmering. Our pick for the blend is Costack Aromatic Hot Broth Spice (Pepper Soup Spice Mix).
What goes into pepper soup
The signature flavour comes from a mix of warming, herbal, peppery spices simmered into stock. Rather than sourcing and grinding each one, most home cooks use a ready blend. Costack Aromatic Hot Broth Spice is a bold, herbal, deeply warming blend built for exactly this: hot broths, spicy soups and stews. ยฃ8.50.
How to make pepper soup (serves 4)
You will need:
- 700g fish, chicken, goat or beef, cut into pieces
- 1.2 litres water or stock
- 2 to 3 tbsp Costack Aromatic Hot Broth Spice (Pepper Soup Spice Mix)
- 1 onion, chopped
- Salt to taste
- Optional: fresh chilli or a pinch of Costack Cameroon Pepper for extra heat
- Optional: scent leaves or parsley to finish
Method:
- Add the meat or fish, onion and water or stock to a pot and bring to a simmer.
- Stir in 2 to 3 tbsp of Costack Aromatic Hot Broth Spice.
- Simmer gently until the protein is cooked through: 10 to 15 minutes for fish, 40 to 60 minutes for goat or beef.
- Season with salt. Add fresh chilli or Costack Cameroon Pepper if you want more heat.
- Finish with herbs and serve hot on its own, or with rice or yam.
Tips
- Fish pepper soup cooks fast, add the fish near the end so it does not break up.
- Goat or beef needs longer, simmer until tender before you judge the seasoning.
- Start with 2 tbsp of the blend, taste, then add more. It is easier to build heat than remove it.
Frequently asked questions
What is pepper soup? A light, hot, aromatic broth of spiced stock served with fish, chicken, goat or beef. The flavour comes from a blend of peppery, herbal spices like Costack Aromatic Hot Broth Spice.
What spice is used in pepper soup? A warming blend of peppery and herbal spices. Most home cooks use a ready mix such as Costack Aromatic Hot Broth Spice rather than grinding each spice separately.
How do you make pepper soup? Simmer fish or meat with onion and stock, stir in 2 to 3 tbsp of pepper soup spice, cook until the protein is done, season with salt, and add extra chilli to taste.
Is pepper soup very spicy? It is warming and peppery, but you control the heat. Start with less blend and add fresh chilli or Costack Cameroon Pepper if you want it hotter.
Where can I buy pepper soup spice in the UK? Costack Aromatic Hot Broth Spice is available directly at costack.uk, with free UK delivery over ยฃ35 by Royal Mail.
