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AI-generated photograph: A small wide rimmed white bowl of smooth glossy tomato red light soup, a fine scatter of green spring onion in the centre and a single thin ring of red chilli

Home · Recipes · Ghanaian tomato light soup with garden egg

West African · Soups and starters

Ghanaian tomato light soup with garden egg

sieved tomato broth · ginger · scotch bonnet

AI-generated photograph

Ghana's light soup is a thin, silky tomato broth sharp with ginger and scotch bonnet. Everything is boiled whole, blended and sieved, so it comes out bright, smooth and clean tasting.

Contains: none of the 14 allergens, as written. None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Stock cubes can contain celery, so check the packet.

Ingredients

  • 6 ripe tomatoes (about 500g)
  • 1 onion, peeled and halved
  • 1 aubergine (about 250g), or 4 garden eggs, stalks off
  • A thumb of ginger (about 20g), peeled
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 scotch bonnet chilli, left whole
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 1 tablespoon tomato purée
  • Half a teaspoon salt, then more to taste
  • To serve: 1 spring onion, very thinly sliced

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Let's cook

  1. Put the whole tomatoes, onion halves, aubergine, ginger, garlic and the whole scotch bonnet in a large pan. Pour in 1.2 litres water and crumble in the stock cube.
  2. Bring to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes until the tomato skins split and the aubergine is soft.
  3. Lift everything out with a slotted spoon into a blender, keeping the liquid in the pan. Leave the scotch bonnet out if you want a gentle soup, or add half of it for a hot one. Blend until smooth.
  4. Hold a sieve over the pan and push the blended vegetables through it with the back of a spoon, so the skins and seeds stay behind. Throw away what is left in the sieve.
  5. Stir in the tomato purée and salt. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the soup is a little thicker but still light and pourable.
  6. Taste for salt. Ladle into small warm bowls and finish with a scatter of spring onion.

Tips

  • Sieving is what makes light soup light. Do not skip it.
  • Take care blending hot liquid: fill the blender no more than half full and hold the lid down with a folded tea towel.
  • It keeps in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for a month. Reheat until steaming hot.

Swaps

  • Fuller version: simmer chunks of mushroom or a few chickpeas in the finished soup.
  • Milder: take the scotch bonnet out after 5 minutes of boiling and do not blend it.

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