Why our pepper soup is a religion in Liberia

Pepper soup means different things depending on who's stirring the pot. For us, it's what mama makes when someone in the family is under the weather — a broth so bright with scotch bonnet and warm spice it clears the head before it even hits your lips.

In Liberia, pepper soup is served across occasions: a wedding, a funeral, a Sunday afternoon with cousins on plastic chairs in the yard. It's always the same three moves — meat, broth, fufu — but the seasoning is what makes each family's version their own. Ours has been passed down three generations.

At Mamamina's, we simmer the broth low and slow with uziza leaves, ehuru and calabash nutmeg, then finish it with a squeeze of fresh lime. Serve it with a soft, hand-pounded fufu ball and you have Liberia on a plate.