Stormzy has asked me for a soup recipe (my work here is done). Something along the lines of the okra soup his mum makes at home. I wouldn’t dare attempt to emulate a much-loved family recipe, let alone that of Stormzy’s mum. I think back to the deep bowls of beef soup I have eaten in Ghana, rust-red with palm oil and tomatoes with enough chilli to make your chest burn. So James and I, who have cooked together for a decade, drop everything and spend a day at the stove roasting beef ribs and shredding ginger, slicing okra and being very, very careful with the angry, scarlet Scotch bonnet chillies. They make every cut on our fingers sting. As the evening draws in, we end up with a casserole of broth that is both warming and lively; the meat is soft and sweet and Stormzy’s beloved okra has added a quality that is simultaneously soothing and unsettling.
The next day, after a night in the fridge, the stew gets heated up again in a big pot over a low heat and I notice its rough edges have softened and its heat has calmed. Yet it would still put up its fists and fight. It warms every inch of my body. I’m hoping Stormzy likes it. I’m hoping his mum likes it even more.
Serves 4
beef short ribs 900g
onions 3, medium
garlic 8 cloves
ginger 50g
plum tomatoes 1.5kg
oil or beef dripping 3 tbsp
cumin seeds 2 tsp
black peppercorns 12
cloves 4
cinnamon stick 1
Scotch bonnet chillies 1 or 2, to taste
bay leaves 3
hot beef stock 1 litre
okra 350g
Get the butcher to cut the ribs into short lengths. Roast the ribs in a casserole at 240C/gas mark 9 for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200C/gas mark 6. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel the garlic. Peel the ginger, cut into thin slices and then into matchsticks. Cut the tomatoes in half.
Add the oil or dripping to the ribs, then add the onions and garlic, stir and return to the oven for 15 minutes, then stir in the ginger, spices, chillies, bay and half the tomatoes. (Reserve the rest for later.) Return to the oven for 40 minutes. Pour in the hot stock, cover with a lid and continue cooking for 1 hour.
Halve the okra lengthways. Cut the remaining tomatoes into wedges. Transfer the casserole to the hob and continue cooking on a moderate to low heat. Add the okra and tomatoes and season generously with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 20 minutes, partially covered, or until the okra is tender. Cut the beef from the bones and place in deep bowls, then ladle in the broth and vegetables. This dish is even better if refrigerated overnight and reheated the following day.
Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater
