Serves 6
Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour 10 minutes
1 kg (2 lb) lean stewing beef, cut into cubes
250 g (8 oz) boneless lean pork, cut into cubes
2.5 litres (4 pints) water
24 okra, trimmed and chopped
500 g (1 lb) kale, tough stalks discarded, roughly chopped
2 green peppers, cored, deseeded and chopped
2 spring onions, roughly chopped
sprig of thyme
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
500 g (1 lb) yellow yams, peeled and diced
2 small potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
salt
Put the meat and measurement water in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, partially cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the okra, kale, green peppers and spring onions to the soup with the thyme and cayenne pepper. Partially cover and simmer over a medium heat for 15 minutes.
Tip in the yams, potatoes and garlic and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the yams and potato are tender and the meat is cooked through. Add more water if the soup is too thick. Season with salt and serve in warm soup bowls with crusty bread, if liked.
For extra hot pepperpot soup with dumplings, add a 7 cm (3 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, finely chopped, and 2 deseeded and finely chopped Scotch bonnet chillies instead of the cayenne pepper. While the yams cook, mix 150 g (5 oz) plain flour with a little salt and 4–5 tablespoons water to make the dumpling dough; it should be soft and slightly sticky. Rub your hands with a little vegetable oil, then divide the dough into 24 pieces, shape into ovals and carefully drop the dumplings into the soup. Cover the pan again and cook for about 10 minutes.