Haitian · serves 8 · about 120 minutes
The soup of freedom itself — squash purée simmered with beef, vegetables, and pasta, served every January first since 1804. The most meaningful bowl in the Americas, and one of the best.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef stew meat
- 1 tbsp epis + juice of 1 lime, to marinate
- 2 lbs calabaza squash, cubed
- 2 potatoes + 2 carrots, chunked
- 1/2 small cabbage, sliced
- 1 cup rigatoni or macaroni
- 1 scotch bonnet, whole
- 2 tbsp Iberia Extra Virgin Olive Oil Blend 51 oz
- 1 sprig thyme + 1 clove
- 10 cups water or beef stock
- to taste salt
Method
- Marinate the beef in epis and lime at least an hour; brown it in the oil.
- Add the water and simmer 45 minutes, until the beef relents.
- Boil the squash separately until soft; blend smooth with its liquid and pour into the pot — the golden heart of the soup.
- Add potatoes, carrots, cabbage, thyme, clove, and the whole bonnet; simmer 20 minutes.
- Add the pasta and cook until tender. Retrieve the bonnet with respect.
- Serve hot to everyone you know. On January first, this bowl is independence — every other day, it's still close.