Banga soup with fresh catfish

Step 1: Put 2 ¼ lb fresh catfish in a bowl, squeeze over 1 lime and pour over a kettleful of just-boiled water. Rub off the grey slime with your fingers or a cloth, then rinse in cold water. Keep the fish in the fridge while you start the soup.

Step 2: Rinse 3 ½ oz smoked dried fish in warm water to remove grit and soften it.

Step 3: Scrape 1 ¾ lb palm fruit concentrate into a wide pot and stir in 3 ¼ cups water until smooth. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, stirring now and then so it does not catch.

Step 4: Add 1 onion, 2 scotch bonnet chillies, 3 tbsp ground crayfish, 2 tbsp banga spice mix and 1 stock cube. Lower to a steady simmer and cook uncovered, stirring every few minutes, until the soup has reduced by about a third and a thin layer of red oil starts to float on top.

Step 5: Add 3 ½ oz smoked dried fish and simmer for 5 minutes so it softens and flavours the soup.

Step 6: Lay the catfish steaks in the soup in one layer and spoon some soup over them. Do not stir: shake the pot gently by the handles instead. A common mistake is stirring hard at this stage, which turns the fish into flakes.

Step 7: Cover and simmer gently until the catfish is opaque all the way through and flakes when pressed at the bone.

Step 8: Sprinkle in 2 tbsp dried beletete leaves, taste and add 1 tsp salt as needed, and simmer for 2 more minutes. The soup should coat the back of a spoon; if it is too thick, loosen with a splash of hot water.

Step 9: Rest the pot off the heat for 5 minutes, then serve with starch, eba or rice.