Soup Joumou
Soup Joumou is a traditional Haitian soup dish that isusually eaten on January 1st of each year, which is New Year’s Day. Itis also the day when the Haitian Revolution ended in 1804. The HaitianRevolution was a war between ex-slaves and French colonial soldiers. Theex-slaves won their independence from the colonial rule on January 1st,1804, making it the Haitian Independence Day.  Soup Joumou is a symbolic food dish because it was a mealthat was denied to slaves when they were under French rule. So, after theslaves were freed and liberated, they consumed Soup Joumou to remind themselvesof their freedom. The Haitian people continue to eat this soup on New Year’sDay to pay tribute to their ancestors and the sacrifices they made for them.  If you went to Haiti and requested the Soup Joumou at arestaurant, the local Haitian people would find it very respectful. It would belike honoring their ancestors and showing that you care about their history. Asa foreigner, you will love the soup if you love the taste of pumpkin, meat andvegetables. This combination creates a unique flavor that you’ve probably nevertasted before.
Ingredients
- 1 Ib of Beef Stew Meat
- 10 Â Cups of Water
- 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper
- 2 lbs of Pumpkin
- 2 Peeled Carrots
- 2 Celery Stalks
- 5 Parsley Sprigs
- 1 Cups of Diced Onions
- 2 Peeled Turnips diced
- 2 Potatoes Cubed
- 1 Ib of Cabbage (chopped thinly)
- 1 lb of Thin Spaghetti
- 2 Limes
- 2 tbs of Tomato Paste
- 1 Cup of Tomato Sauce
Instructions
- Grab a measuring cup and use it to add 6 cups of water toa medium sized stockpot. Add two pounds of pumpkin to the water and heat thepot over a stove for 30 minutes. Set the heat to medium intensity.
- The pumpkin should be soft at this point. You’ll want topuree the pumpkin manually or with a beater so that it mixes with the water.Let the pumpkin continue to cook.
- Clean the beef stew meat with hot water and lime. Drainthe liquid and marinate the meat with various vegetables and spices, includingsalt, ground black pepper, green pepper, shallot, garlic, thyme, onion, andpaste-scallions. Let the meat marinate for up to 60 minutes, but it will tastebetter if you leave it for 24 hours.
- Add the marinated beef stew meat to the pot. Include sometomato paste and oil in there as well. If you want the meat to become browner,add a little bit of water too. Let the pot cook on the stove for 20 minuteswith medium heat.
- Once the ingredients have cooked for 20 minutes, use themeasuring cup to add 3 more cups of water to the pot. Let everything continueto cook until the liquid boils. Then you can add additional ingredients, suchas turnips, onion, celery, carrots, cabbage, potato, parsley, and tomato sauce.
- Reduce the intensity of the heat from medium to low orsimmer. Add an entire scotch bonnet pepper to the pot. Let the ingredients cookfor 60 minutes. Stir the soup mixture periodically. Take the scotch pepper outof the mixture before it breaks apart. It is only supposed to be used forflavoring only.
- Break up the thin spaghetti into smaller pieces and addthem to the pot. Keep it cooking until the spaghetti turns soft. You canenhance the flavor further with some more hot pepper, salt, or black pepper.Mix it all together.
- Shut off the heat of the stove and put a lid on the potto cover the soap. Leave it alone for 10 minutes or so. Serve when ready.
Video
Notes
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