Meatballs Efo Riro (Meatballs in Stewed Amaranth Greens)

So now I have quite a lot of meatballs in my freezer, after having made some previously (check post here). I particularly made them so that my daughter can readily have some whenever she wants....cause she loves meatballs. The idea of eating meat off the bone does not wash with her, and she wants little effort possible to chew her meat...!

Meatballs are great with pasta, and also with rice. And as a new discovery for me, they are excellent in traditional Nigerian soups.

So my daughter was the one who suggested that I should add some meatballs to my traditional vegetable soup, so I did, and the result is fantastic. The meat balls cooked so quickly and they soaked up so much flavour from the soup base. It is delicious, very simple to make, with very little effort.

What you need
Home made meat balls (check recipe here)
Base sauce to make the soup
Stock
Some palm oil (or other vegetable oil of choice)
Amaranth greens (blanched and shredded)
Locust beans
Whole smoked prawns (remove the head, and wash thoroughly in hot water)
Vegetable oil
Salt to taste

What to do
Heat some vegetable oil in a sauce pan and pan fry the meatballs until browned slightly.  This process is needed to seal the juices in the meatballs. Stir constantly to avoid burning, Once the balls have evenly browned, remove from the pan and allow to rest,

In the meantime, heat up some palm oil in a saucepan and add a generous amount of pre-made red pepper base sauce (see a recipe here). Add the stock and some locust beans. Allow sauce to sizzle and reduce into a slightly thick consistency. Taste for salt.

Now add the meatballs into the sizzling sauce and stir in. Also add the blanched and shredded amaranth greens. Cover the pan and turn heat down. Allow to simmer until the greens and the meatballs cook through. The amount of greens and meatballs you add will depend on the quantity of sauce you have. Adjust consistency by adding a little hot water, as required. Taste for salt.

Serve hot.