Callaloo Soup
The seasoning in this dish is generally sautéed, however, we decided to skip that step. When the soup is blended at the end, all the flavors will come together for a tasty version of callaloo soup.
Ingredients
- 8 – 10 cups of chopped dasheen* leaves amaranth (bhaji) leaves. You can use Swiss Chard and spinach leaves as a substitute.
*Note about dasheen: Remove all stems from the dasheen leaves before chopping the leaves. If you want to include all or some of the stems then chop them separately into ½ inch pieces.
Remember to thoroughly wash leaves and stems first. And thoroughly wash your hands and arms with soap and water before and after handling raw dasheen or wear gloves while handling.
Dasheen should not be eaten raw, and it must be cooked for at least 30 minutes.
- ½ cup of coconut milk
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 cup okros, chopped
- ½ cup sweet peppers, chopped
- ½ - ¾ cup onions, chopped
- 4-6 garlic cloves (chopped) (2 tbsp minced)
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 4 - 5 sprigs of thyme remove the stems and use the leaves only
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- ½ cup pumpkin, diced in 1-inch pieces
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 2 culantro leaves, chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper, or to taste
- Hot pepper to taste
- 1 7- inch carrot (chopped)
- ½ cup potatoes or yam, diced into to 1-inch cubes
- Optional dumpling ingredients:
½ cup flour
1 tbsp warm water
⅛ tsp salt
1 pinch of baking powder
⅛ tsp brown sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients (except the carrots and dumplings) to a large pot.
- Bring to a boil, stir, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Check the level of the liquid after 20 minutes and stir the soup. Add more a little water if necessary.
- Make dumplings while soup is cooking: To make the dumplings, mix all the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder), then add the water a little at a time. Knead for 5 minutes into a soft dough, then let rest for 10 minutes. Separate into small balls or long pieces set aside.
- Back to the Soup: After 45 minutes, remove pot from heat. Use an Immersion blender (or your regular blender) to blend the soup to your desired texture, or serve without blending.
- Place pot with soup back over heat. Add chopped carrots, dumplings and/or yam to the soup. Bring to a slight boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 – 10 minutes, until the dumplings are cooked.
Notes
Pairing: Serve as-is, or as a side vegetable dish to any main dishes.