Palm Butter is a favorite dish of many...

You Will Need:

1 lb shrimp

3 crabs (cleaned and cut in half)

2 lbs beef

2 lbs soup bones

1 large onion (chopped)

2  tsp salt

3  tsps seasoned salt

1  tsp ground black pepper

1 pod of hot pepper

1 piece smoked turkey (drumstick or wing)

5 bay leaves

1 large orange (see Tips)

Items from Spanish or Oriental store):

1 large can palm soup (~32 ounces)

2 bonnies

1 piece dried fish (optional)

2 Maggi chicken soup (optional)

3 bitter balls

Make your soup:

Wash your meat, chicken, fish, and seafood. Cut chicken into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Cut stewing beef into 1 inch pieces and smoked turkey into 1/2 inch pieces. Peel and remove bones from bonnies. Break each bonnie into about 4 to 6 pieces. Clean crab and break apart. Combine all in pan with shrimp.

Add 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp seasoned salt. Stir to spread seasoning evenly. Let sit for 20 minutes.

Put all your meat in a 8 quart pot. Cut up onion and add to pot. Chop up your hot pepper finely and add to pot. Add water to pot so that it is 1/2 full.

Add 1 tsp of seasoned salt, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp of black pepper. Taste your sauce. If you would like more salt, carefully sprinkle more salt or add a chicken soup.

Bring soup to a boil on high. Reduce heat to medium high. Half-cover pot(so that it can vent) and boil until the soup is reduced by about ½, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Make your palm butter:

Remove all meats (including seafood) from soup and set aside.

Open and empty the palm soup into a large bowl. Fill the empty palm soup can with water and add it to the palm soup in the bowl. Mix and strain the palm soup mixture to remove any residual palm hull leftover from processing the palm soup.

Pour strained palm soup into the pot of soup and stir. Drop in bay leaves. Bring to boil on medium-high heat and then simmer on medium heat until the liquid thickens to the consistency of stew, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Add back in the meats and seafood and simmer on medium-low with the pot half-covered until the palm butter thickens to the consistency of butter at room temperature. This may take another 15 to 20 minutes. Do not over dry (see picture).

Enjoy your palm butter with rice and fried plantain.

Feeds 6

Tips:

To reduce the food smell in your home, try peeling an orange. Place the rind in a small pot. Cover with water and boil the entire time you are cooking. Add more water as needed.

Be careful with bonnies. Bonnies are little dried fish with many, many bones. Try to get most of the bones out before cooking.

Many Africans cook with Maggi chicken soup for added flavoring. I have added a minimal amount of salt to my recipe to allow you to add more or to use chicken soup if desired.

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