soup joumou

haitian squash soup

When the Haitian Revolution ended with Haiti's liberation from French colonial rule on January 1, 1804, Haitians celebrated by consuming soup joumou all day, relishing the taste of freedom.

Hello! I’m Rilka, I live in Brooklyn, and I’m thrilled to be sharing my first recipe here. sweet baby lettuces started as a zine. The first issue was published in summer 2023. It will continue here as a newsletter delivered to you about once a week. You can expect to read about what I’m cooking and eating. Thank you for being here!

I am working on issue two of the zine to get these Haitian recipes that are very dear to my heart out to people in a physical way that feels more permanent and special.

A few weeks ago, I went to a friend’s place to be cozy and make this soup. This recipe is typically rather labor-intensive, but I tried modifying things to simplify cooking.

Calabaza squash is traditionally used because it is native to the Caribbean. It’s very similar to butternut squash. Kabocha squash is another excellent substitute. I could only find butternut squash this day and it still turned out great and delicious, but I find when I use the calabaza squash the soup is a more vibrant yellow-orange color which is nice.

The recipe also calls for Haitian epis; a pepper, herb, and garlic marinade - similar to a sofrito. It is a must!

When my mom serves this on New Year’s Day, she says it keeps you strong all year long. So eat up! For the revolution!

Recipe below

After blending the epis, I stash it away in a mason jar to keep in the fridge for other recipes.

All the veggies for the soup: leeks, potatoes, turnips, carrots, celery, onions, and butternut squash because I couldn’t find calabaza squash.

soup joumou

haitian squash soup

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew or chuck meat, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces (be sure your meat has bones! so much flavor)

• 1 cup epis

• 5 cups cubed calabaza or butternut squash (1 medium, 2 small squash)

• 4 cups cubed peeled russet potatoes (2 large potatoes)

• 2 cups sliced green cabbage

• 1 1/2 cups sliced yellow onion (1 medium onion)

• 1 cup finely chopped leek (white and light green parts only) (1 medium leek)

• 1 cup peeled finely chopped turnips (2 small turnips)

• 2/3 cup sliced carrots (2 medium carrots)

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped celery (1 medium celery)

• 1 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile (optional)

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 1 parsley sprig

• 1 thyme sprig

• 1 cup uncooked dried rigatoni pasta

Instructions

1. Marinate the beef:

   • In a large bowl, combine beef and epis.

   • Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

2. Cook the beef:

   • In a large pot, add marinated beef and 2 cups of water.

   • Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until meat is just cooked (meat will cook more with veggies).

3. Prepare the squash:

   • In a separate pot, boil the squash until fork-tender (10-12 minutes).

   • Drain and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth.

4. Combine and cook:

   • Add pureed squash to the beef pot.

   • Stir in potatoes, cabbage, onion, leek, turnips, carrots, celery, chile, parsley sprig, and thyme sprig.

   • Add enough water to cover meat and veggies (about 5-6 cups).

   • Simmer uncovered for 30-45 minutes (up to 1 hour) until vegetables are tender.

5. Finish the soup:

   • Add rigatoni and simmer for 10-12 minutes until pasta is cooked.

   • Adjust seasoning to taste. More or less: lime, parsley, salt and pepper, water?

To serve: Hot with freshly cracked black pepper and more parsley

I imagine this recipe would be great vegetarian. Leaving out the meat, adding veggie broth. I’ve never tried it, but let me know if you do.

I used habanero pepper here. Be careful not to break it while mixing the soup or it will become extremely spicy!

Recipe for the pattie pictured here to come next week

Happy New Year!

love! Rilka