← Nouns Cooking · Caribbean

Ingredients

• 500 g stewing beef, cut into 3 cm cubes
• 2 Lime, juiced, divided
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 3 Spring onion, chopped
• 1 handful Parsley, chopped
• 4 sprigs Thyme
• 2 tsp Salt, plus more to taste
• 1 kg Caribbean pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 2.5 l Water
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 Carrot, sliced
• 2 celery sticks, sliced
• 3 Potato, peeled and cubed
• 300 g Cabbage, shredded
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, left whole
• 100 g vermicelli or thin spaghetti, broken into short pieces
• ½ tsp Black pepper

Method

1. Rinse the beef with the juice of 1 lime and water. Mix it with the garlic, spring onion, half the parsley, the thyme and 1 tsp salt, and leave for at least 1 hour.
2. Put the beef and its marinade in a large pot with 1 litre of the water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 45 min.
3. Meanwhile, boil the pumpkin in 1 litre of water for 15–20 min until very soft. Blend it with its cooking water until smooth.
4. Pour the pumpkin purée and the remaining 500 ml water into the beef pot. Add the onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, cabbage and the whole scotch bonnet and simmer for 25 min.
5. Add the pasta and simmer for 10 min more, stirring so it does not stick, until it is tender. Season with the remaining salt, pepper and the rest of the lime juice.
6. Remove the pepper and thyme stalks, scatter with the rest of the parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Tips

• The soup thickens as it stands because of the pasta and pumpkin; add hot water when reheating.
• Families often add turnip, leek or malanga; use what you have.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Taste the Islands 196 flavors