Caribbean: Jamaica: Jamaican Pepper Pot (Soup)

INGREDIENTS:

 

1/2 pound salted beef or pig tail

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 medium white potatoes

1 pound yellow yam

1 pound boneless beef shank, cut into 1 1/2–inch chunks

1 cup all-purpose flour

Salt

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

1 (19-ounce) can callaloo, drained and rinsed

1/2 pound fresh or frozen okra (about 2 cups)

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 scallions, halved crosswise

5 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons salted butter

1 Scotch bonnet pepper

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

 

Rinse the salted beef and cut it into roughly 1 1/2–inch chunks. Place these (or the pig tail) into a small pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the water. Refill the pot with cold water. Bring to a boil again, and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the water.

 

Add 3 1/2 quarts of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. While that’s heating up, peel the sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and yellow yam. Chop into 1 1/2–inch chunks and add to a bowl of cold water to prevent any discoloration.

 

Add the salted beef (or pig tails) and beef shank to the boiling water. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the stew beef is tender (the salt beef is dense, so it won’t really seem as tender at this point).

 

While the beef is boiling, prepare the spinner dumplings: Combine the flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and oil in a large bowl.

 

Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of water, stirring with a fork to form a dough. Once the mixture turns into small clumps, switch from the fork to your hand to knead gently, until you have a soft, smooth dough. You may need to add a bit more water along the way, but the dough should not be sticky. Pinch off slightly less than a tablespoon of dough and roll between your palms to create a long dumpling, about 3 1/2 inches long, like a fat caterpillars. Repeat with the remaining dough.

 

When the beef shank is tender, use a slotted spoon or spider to remove the meat from the pot and transfer to a bowl.

 

Keep the broth in the pot—this will serve as the base for the soup.

 

Add the callaloo, okra, and garlic to the broth and boil for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Blend until the callaloo and okra are smooth with an immersion blender or a countertop blender.

 

Set the pot with the puree over a medium-high heat. Drain the potatoes and yam. Add these to the pot with the meat, dumplings, scallions, thyme, butter, and Scotch bonnet. Cover and boil for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. (Be careful to avoid bursting or puncturing the Scotch bonnet, or the soup will be very spicy.) Salt to taste.

 

Remove the Scotch bonnet, thyme, and scallions. Use a fork and knife to remove the Scotch bonnet’s seeds and stem, then slice into small pieces to serve alongside the soup, for everyone to add to taste.