Passport & Plate - Soup Joumou
Haiti | Saturday, February 28, 2015 | 1 photos
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic
2 scallions, sliced, plus more for garnish
¼ cup roughly chopped parsley
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 medium shallot, sliced
1 scotch bonnet chile, stemmed and seeded
Juice of 1 lime, plus wedges for serving
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lbs. beef chuck, cut into ½" pieces
2 tbsp. olive oil
8 cups beef stock
2 carrots, cut into 1½" pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into 1½" pieces
1 small leek, trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut into 1½" pieces; rinsed
1 small yellow onion, cut into 1½" pieces
1 large Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1½" pieces
1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1½" pieces
½ small green cabbage, cored and cut into 1½" pieces
½ small kabocha squash, cut into 1" pieces
*from saveur.com
How to prepare this recipe1. Puree garlic, scallions, parsley, thyme, shallots, chile, juice, salt and pepper, and ½ cup water in a blender until smooth; mix with beef in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Remove beef from marinade and dry with paper towels; set aside. Heat oil in a 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook, turning as needed, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add stock and and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender, about 1½ hours. Add carrots, celery, leeks, onion, potatoes, turnips, and cabbage; cook, slightly covered and stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring squash and 2 cups water to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving ½ cup cooking liquid and transfer squash and liquid to a blender; puree until smooth and set aside. When vegetables are tender, uncover, and stir in reserved squash puree; cook, stirring occasionally, until soup is slightly thick, 5–10 minutes more; season with salt and pepper and serve with scallions and lime wedges.
*from saveur.com
The story behind this recipe"This savory pumpkin soup is served in Haiti on January 1, the anniversary of Haiti's liberation from France. It is said that the soup was once a delicacy reserved for white masters but forbidden to the slaves who cooked it. After Independence, Haitians took to eating it to celebrate the world's first and only successful slave revolution resulting in an independent nation."
I had this soup in Port-au-Prince while on a relief mission with a humanitarian aide organization. This was one year after the earthquake, and many people were still living in the rubble. And yet the Haitian hospitality is a real thing, and the locals made sure that we, the outsiders, were served with a warm hearty bowl of Soup Joumou, a dish traditionally eaten on New Year's day or their Independence day. After eating only PB&J sandwiches for almost two weeks straight, it was a real treat to have an actual home-cooked meal especially considering that we all knew how hard it was for our hosts to get those ingredients and feed all 30 of us. I'll never forget the steaming hot bowl of Soup Joumou that was served amidst the rubble, and the heart-warming Haitian hospitality.
