Du Potager à la table: Soup Joumou

Part of being Haitian, whether living in Haiti or in the diaspora, is having Soup Joumou for New Year’s Day, which is also Haiti’s Independence Day. It is a rich beef and squash based soup, which also contains a lot of other vegetables, basically almost everything growing in a potager. Legend has it that prior to the slave rebellion that led to the end of slavery and Haiti’s independence from France, this soup was reserved for the « Blancs », the white plantation owners and slave masters. Upon winning their freedom and independence, the ex-slaves declared it imperative that they should eat this soup, which is now the traditional New Year’s Soup, to celebrate their freedom.

My recipe is adapted from The Art and Soul of Haitian Cooking by the Haitian Institute, Washington, D.C. (I believe it’s only available used, but it’s a wonderful cookbook!)

This is traditionally a beef-based soup, but many Haitians who do not eat beef, make adjustments by using chicken or turkey in this soup. Those who are vegans make it completely vegan. All these variations are tasty.

My friend Elle Philippe who is a chef,says Kabocha squash is the best variety of squash for this soup.

Prior to her recommendation I had always used butternut squash. This year the butternut squash grew much better than did the Kabocha, so I ended up using a mix of the two. I also grew the turnips, the leeks and the cabbage. I planted some parsnips but they did not do well, nor did the carrots, and my potatoes are not ready to be dug up yet, so I had to buy some of those.

Ingredients

– 2-4 tablespoons of Olive oil
– 1 lb stewing beef, cut into chunks
– 1 lb beef bones
– 1 quart of beef broth
– 2 lbs butternut or Kabocha squash or a mix of both
– 2 leeks
– 2 medium onions
– 1 head of garlic
– 6-8 garlic cloves
– 1 small bunch of parsley
– 1 small bunch of fresh thyme or dried thyme
– 3 cloves
– 2 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, seeds and membranes removed**
– 1 bunch scallions
– 1 large red bell pepper or several small red and yellow peppers, seeded and cut into chunks
– 1 stalk of celery
– 1/2 of a small cabbage, cored and chopped roughly
– 1/4 lb spaghetti, broken into pieces or macaroni – optional
– Vinegar
– Limes
– Salt and pepper

Cut the Squash into large pieces (do not peel) and clean out the seeds and loose fibers by scraping with the side of a large metal spoon. Place the pieces in a large pot, cover with water, add salt, and boil until tender, about twenty minutes.

While the squash is boiling, place one onion, cut into large chunks, the bell pepper and one of the habanero peppers, the celery and the scallions, cut into large pieces, half a bunch of parsley and all the peeled garlic cloves with a handful of kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and a tablespoon of olive oil in your food processor. Run it on high for a couple of minutes until you get a good blend resembling a salsa. Divide this spice mixture in half and reserve one half in a sealed container in the fridge.

Place the beef chunks into a bowl with the other half of your spice mixture, mix well to coat the pieces, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. You can do this the night before and let the meat marinate overnight.

Your squash should be tender by now so take the pot off the heat and remove the squash pieces with the use of a large slotted spoon or strainer to a large plate to cool.
Do not throw away the liquid that the squash cooked in! Keep it in the pot and return the pot to the stove on high boil to reduce the stock.

Start peeling and chopping the rest of the vegetables, and as you peel, throw all of your clean peels, carrot tops, turnip peels, leek greens, onion peels, EVERYTHING, into your stockpot. Set aside the clean diced vegetables into prep bowls. When you are finished cleaning and dicing everything, your stock should be almost ready. Keep it boiling, but turn it down to a simmer if it has already reduced by about half.

In another large stockpot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat on medium heat. Add the marinated meat pieces and brown the meat for a couple of minutes before adding the other onion, finely chopped, and the sliced and cleaned leeks*. Add the other half of your reserved spice mixture to the pot, the soup bones (if you want to develop even more flavor you can roast them first while your stock is reducing), add the 2 remaining cloves, cover with the quart of beef broth and leave the pot covered on medium heat to cook until the meat starts to become tender, about an hour.

While the meat is cooking, strain and discard the peels from the squash and vegetable stock and add the stock to the pot with the meat. Once the meat starts to «let go », add the vegetables in sequence, (add the ones that take the longest to cook first) the carrots and chayote, the turnip and parsnip, then a few minutes later the potatoes and lastly the cabbage. Lower the heat to a simmer.

The squash should be cool enough to handle, so you can scrape the cooked squash off the peel with a spoon, and purée it in your food processor before adding it back to the soup pot. I like my soup fairly thick, some people like theirs thinner, so you can adjust the amount of puréed squash you add back until you get to your desired consistency. Continue to cook until the vegetables are tender. If you are adding spaghetti or macaroni, which is traditional, this is the time to add it and let it cook for about 10 minutes until tender. At the last minute, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the pot and stir well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve with slices of lime.

You should now have a pot of the most delicious, nutritious soup!

Enjoy!

* To make sure your leeks are free of grit, slice them in half lengthwise before slicing crosswise into small half-moon slices. Place the sliced leeks in a large bowl of cold water and swirl for a few seconds to separate all the layers, then leave undisturbed for a few minutes. All the grit will settle at the bottom of the bowl, and you can scoop your cleaned leeks off the top with you hands or with a strainer, being careful not to disturb the dirt from the bottom.

** Most people use the whole scotch bonnet or habanero pepper added to the pot. I like to remove the membranes and seeds and include the peppers in my spice mixture so that I can better control the level of heat from the peppers.