Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago, 3rd edition. Ramin Ganeshram
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for 1 minute more. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Serve the soup warm or cold.
SERVES: 6 TO 8
This thick soup is considered the national dish of Trinidad. It makes use of dasheen/taro leaves, which lend a particular almost tangy flavor. A mixture of fresh spinach and Swiss chard is a good substitute if you cannot get dasheen. Callalloo can be made with or without crabmeat or pork, according to taste.
1 pound dasheen/taro leaves, or ½ pound each spinach and Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped
6 cups chicken stock
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 scallions, green and white parts, chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
¼ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
4 ounces lean salt pork or Canadian bacon, cut into ½-inch cubes
½ pound fresh, canned, or frozen crabmeat
½ cup coconut milk
½ pound young okra or 1 (10-ounce) package frozen okra, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
1 Place the greens in a soup pot with the chicken stock, onion, garlic, scallions, chives, thyme, and salt pork. Cover and simmer over low heat until the pork is fork tender, about 30 minutes.
2 Using a slotted spoon, remove most of the solids from the pot and place them in a food processor or blender. Puree to a rough paste. Return mixture to the pot, mixing well.
3 Add the crabmeat, coconut milk, and okra, and stir until thoroughly combined. Simmer over medium heat for another 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce.
SERVES: 4
Coconut milk, hot pepper, and herbs give this popular soup a little tropical kick. If you have a supply of Green Seasoning (page 254) on hand, you can use that in place of the collected herbs in this recipe—use about 2 tablespoons.
Calabaza, also called West Indian pumpkin, is now more readily available in your standard supermarket, but if you can’t find it you can substitute butternut squash. Cinderella or “cheese” pumpkins are actually the best substitute because of their high sugar content. They are generally available in autumn and can be stored in a cool dry place right through the winter. Alternatively, if using them for purees or soup, I peel and cut the pumpkin into large chunks and freeze in individual zip-top bags of about one pound each.
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups chopped calabaza, pumpkin, butternut squash, or acorn squash
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon dark brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk
¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Sour cream (optional)
Chopped chives (optional)
1 Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan and add the calabaza, tossing to coat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the onion and garlic. Cover and sweat the vegetables for about 3 minutes.
2 Add the stock, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, parsley, cilantro, and salt. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes; then remove the lid and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes more, or until the calabaza is fork tender.
3 Remove the bay leaf and discard. Remove the vegetables and herbs from the soup with a slotted spoon and place in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot and add the sugar and coconut milk and mix well.
4 Simmer the soup uncovered for 5 minutes, or until reduced by one-quarter. Add the pepper sauce and simmer for 2 minutes more. Serve hot, garnished with a dollop of sour cream and some chives.
SERVES: 6 TO 8
This is the Trinidadian version of a popular meal that was often prepared on Sundays throughout the Caribbean because it could be left to simmer over the fire while laborers spent the day at church or worked in the fields. One of my childhood favorites, this thick soup features dumplings shaped like pointy-ended ovals. My father always seemed to have a pot of Sancoche, which my brother and I called “Dumpling Soup,” on the back burner of the stove or in the refrigerator or freezer.
SOUP
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound boneless beef or chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 cups beef or chicken stock
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup brown lentils
1 pound white boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
½ pound calabaza or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper or other hot chili pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
DUMPLINGS
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
⅛ teaspoon coarse salt
⅛ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cold butter
1 Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or 4-quart saucepan. When the oil is hot, add the meat and sauté until lightly browned. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, then add the stock, thyme, bay leaf, and lentils. Lower the heat and simmer for about 1 hour.
2 Meanwhile make the dumplings: Mix together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter, making sure it is well incorporated into the flour. Gradually add ¼ cup of water or more as