Soup joumou

Ingredients

Meat and marinade

• 800 gstewing beef, cut into 3 cm cubes
• 2beef marrow bones
• 4 tbspepis (blended parsley, spring onion, garlic, thyme, green pepper and onion)
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper

Soup

• 1.2 kgjoumou (calabaza or giraumon squash), peeled, deseeded, cut into chunks
• 2.5 litreswater
• 2carrots, sliced into rounds
• 2potatoes, cut in 3 cm pieces
• 1turnip, diced
• 300 gmalanga or yam, peeled and cubed
• 1small green cabbage (300 g), shredded
• 2celery sticks with leaves, chopped
• 1onion, sliced
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 1scotch bonnet, pierced but whole
• 5whole cloves
• 2 sprigsthyme
• 150 grigatoni or thick vermicelli
• 60 gbutter
• salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Wash the beef with lime and water, drain, then rub with epis, salt and pepper and leave at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.
2. Brown the beef and bones in a large pot over high heat, then add 1 litre of water, the thyme and cloves and simmer covered for 1 hour until the meat begins to soften.
3. Meanwhile boil the squash in 1 litre of water until completely collapsing, about 25 minutes, then blend with its water to a smooth orange puree and pass through a sieve.
4. Pour the squash puree into the meat pot. This is the body of the soup and it should coat a spoon without being thick.
5. Add the carrot, potato, turnip and malanga and simmer 20 minutes, then the cabbage, celery, onion, garlic and the whole scotch bonnet, and cook 15 minutes more.
6. Drop in the pasta and cook until just tender, 8–10 minutes, loosening with hot water if the soup tightens.
7. Fish out the scotch bonnet before it bursts, stir in the butter, and correct the salt. The finished soup should be velvety, deep orange and just fluid enough to drink from a mug.
8. Serve very hot on 1 January with bread, the day Haitians mark independence.

Technique

• The soup carries history: under French rule enslaved Haitians were forbidden it, and it was drunk in celebration on 1 January 1804. UNESCO listed it as intangible heritage in 2021.
• Sieving the squash is what separates a home cook’s soup from a stringy one; giraumon has fibres that never break down.
• The scotch bonnet goes in whole and comes out whole. Burst it and the soup becomes uneatable for most of the table.

Substitutions

• Butternut squash is the usual substitute for joumou, though it is sweeter; cut the sugar by adding a spoon of lime juice at the end.
• Malanga can be replaced with taro, yam or simply more potato.

Variations

• Many families use only beef shin and bones; others add a piece of cured beef for depth.
• A vegetable-only joumou is now common on 1 January menus in Port-au-Prince, built on the same squash base.

History

Enslaved Haitians were barred from the colonists’ squash soup; it has been drunk every 1 January since independence in 1804 and UNESCO inscribed it in 2021.

Frequently asked questions

What is Soup joumou?

Soup joumou is a soup & stew from Haiti: pumpkin soup eaten January 1 to celebrate independence. Enslaved Haitians were barred from the colonists’ squash soup; it has been drunk every 1 January since independence in 1804 and UNESCO inscribed it in 2021.

How long does Soup joumou take to make?

Soup joumou takes 40 min of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Soup joumou?

Yes, within limits. Butternut squash is the usual substitute for joumou, though it is sweeter; cut the sugar by adding a spoon of lime juice at the end. Malanga can be replaced with taro, yam or simply more potato.

What is the most important thing to get right in Soup joumou?

Add the carrot, potato, turnip and malanga and simmer 20 minutes, then the cabbage, celery, onion, garlic and the whole scotch bonnet, and cook 15 minutes more.