As the Winter season approaches, there are plenty of recipes to try to fill the holiday spirit. A popular dish people love to eat is soup; it’s warm, and filled with flavor and tasty. What makes this specific soup special is that it’s used to celebrate Haitian Independence Day. Haiti is the first Caribbean country to gain their independence from the French in 1804; to celebrate we eat Soup Joumou (squash soup in English) every year on January 1st.

This dish takes hours to make but can be adjusted to your liking depending on your choices for your diet and depending on your dislikes.

Meat seasoning:
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 shallots, diced
1 tsp seasoning salt
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp epis

STEP 1:
Marinate the meat overnight or for at least 1 hour.

STEP 2:
Place the seasoned meat in a stockpot and cover with water.

STEP 3:
Add oil and let boil over high heat. Keep covered until the water has evaporated.

STEP 4:
Uncover, stir and simmer a few drops of water occasionally to brown the meat.

STEP 5:
Keep stirring and simmer water occasionally until you have a nice browning color to the meat.

STEP 6:
Stir in one tbsp of tomato paste. Remove meat and set aside the pot for the vegetables.
INGREDIENTS
1 lb of beef
1/2 cup of olive oil
water as needed
1 large scallions, diced
1 half medium cabbage, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 yams, peeled and chopped
2 malangas, peeled and chopped
2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
2 turnips, peeled and chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 6 oz. package of spaghetti
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 scotch bonnet pepper
4 parsley sprigs

For the vegetables:
STEP 1:
In a separate bowl, cut into small pieces the large scallions and half medium cabbage.

STEP 2:
Peel & chop the potatoes, yams, malanga, butternut squash, carrots, and turnip.

STEP 3:
Wash the vegetables. In a separate pot, boil water and add the vegetables. Cover and cook over high heat for about an hour.

STEP 4:
Reduce heat and add scotch bonnet pepper.

STEP 5:
Once the squash is fully cooked, remove it from the pot. Use some of the cooking water to blend the squash into a purée.

STEP 6:
Strain the purée through a fine sieve set over a bowl. Press it through with a spoon or rubber spatula.

STEP 7:
For best flavoring, pour the cooked vegetables, the squash purée and cooking liquid into the pot that cooked the meat.

STEP 8:
Add parsley, thyme, and broken spaghetti (or macaroni).

STEP 9:
Let it all cook, until tender.

STEP 10:
Combine meat into soup. Serve hot.

The steps are perhaps intimidating, but the results are worth it! It’s a tasty soup you can enjoy with your friends and family. Serve hot and enjoy your delicious Haitian cuisine!