Summer Your Soup

The Caribbean soup known as “callaloo” is a tropical, cool-down exercise found on many islands: from Jamaica to Antigua, Haiti, Trinidad and Guadeloupe, to name a few. For those of you who think that soup is an exclusively winter offering, you might wish to reconsider this stance. Callaloo soup is a lively medley of greens, sometimes called Pepper-pot or Congo soup. It has many variants in the Caribbean, all associated with Africans. The soup is described by one eighteenth-century writer as “that most delicate Pallat-scorching Soop…a kind of Devil’s Broth.”[1] The most delicate and spicy of the essential greens is no doubt “callaloo” itself, reputedly also the most nutritious of ingredients that even Old Popeye the Sailor would envy.

Callaloo greens for sale in Indianapolis (Photograph: Rick Warner)

The callaloo leaves of the wild amaranth plant or dasheen leaves were said to grow like spinach and to impart a pleasant, fragrant taste all over the Caribbean. Various plants of the amaranth species are found globally. The origins of the word “callaloo” are another matter, but seem to point to West Africa, where “kalalu” means to mix several things together, as a medley or mélange. The term has been used not only to describe the flavors of the soup pot, but also to debate the alchemy and virtues of cultural tossing vs. melting. Callaloo traveled the maritime routes in the Atlantic, moving from Africa to the Caribbean and North America. Philadelphia pepper pot was wholesome street food and the southern version became the jazzy riff on soup and African “black” rice we lovingly came to know as gumbo.

The Callaloo soup pot is a forgiving place. Low on meat? Need to stretch the budget? Unexpected guests? Overflowing summer garden produce? Much like the Caribbean crucible itself, any and every medley of flavor combination are welcome. While there are no rules, there are two major avenues of construction. Either begin with the protein and build a broth with bones and vegetables swimming happily together. Or add the ingredients in order of cooking times, beginning with onion and pepper, celery and carrot, seasonings, herbs, and broth. Steam the delicate greens or if you choose spinach, kale or collards, boil these until done. Finally, add the seafood or leftover animal protein. Then, if you choose, roux, roux, roux your boat!

Callaloo tamed by the soup pot (Photograph: Candice Goucher)

Recipe for Callaloo Soup

(2-4 servings)

Ingredients

½ C Onion, finely diced

½ Large Bell pepper, finely diced

½ C Celery, finely diced

½ C Carrots, peeled and diced

½ teaspoon Curry powder

2 Tbsp Assorted herbs chopped (parsley, thyme, tarragon)

1 Small tomato, finely diced

1 C Okra, sliced (frozen is fine)

½ Habanero or other hot pepper, seeded and very finely cut (Use a whole pepper or find Scotch bonnet, if you prefer more heat)

32 ounces Chicken or vegetable broth (start with ½ box of broth, then add more if desired)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bunch Callaloo

1 cup chopped Baby Spinach leaves

1 pound Shrimp or other seafood (crab, halibut, smoked salmon)

Optional:

For the finishing roux: brown equal parts butter and flour OR add a small (5.46 oz) can of coconut cream with 1 tsp each turmeric and creole seasoning.

Instructions

For four servings as a side dish or two large servings, you will need one large bunch of callaloo, plus some spinach, or two cups of other chopped greens. Other vegetables (zucchini, pumpkin) can also be friendly additions.

Start with finely diced 1/2 onion and 1/2 large bell pepper and 1/2 cup each of celery and carrots. Sautee, starting with the onions, letting them caramelize, then adding the rest. Season with creole seasoning (watch the salt, mine doesn't have any), maybe a little curry powder or cumin + coriander, salt and pepper, two tablespoons fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used thyme and tarragon) and a tomato, finely diced -1/2 habanero pepper very finely cut. Cover with chicken broth or vegetable broth. Add okra. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until done.

Add callaloo to the top. We had garden fresh – but other greens may be substituted (spinach, collards) and occasionally international food markets offer the leaves under various names. It doesn't take long to steam the callaloo or spinach. Other greens may need boiling. Add 1/2 pound cooked shrimp or other seafood at the end. Just before adding the shrimp, I made a roux that I browned to a deep caramel color -- 1 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp flour. Whisk until brown and add to the soup. This is a "gumbo" element, but it gives the soup a nice finished quality. Coconut milk is also a popular favorite addition; be sure to measure this ingredient against the desired heat of your final soup as the coconut offsets or “cools down” the pepper. Voila!

[1] The Works of Mr. Thomas Brown, vol. 2 (London, 1719).