AsToldByBrandyBlog

Haitian Soup Joumou Recipe 

A squash based soup

Ingredients:

Beef cubes (or your choice of meat, you can also leave this out)-I season meat the night before to let the seasonings marinate. You can also season 1-2 hours prior to cooking

Butternut Squash

Cabbage

Carrots

Parsley

Leeks

Celery

Potatoes (Sweet and Regular)

Malanga or Yams (didn’t have any, so it’s not pictured in my video)

Spaghetti Pasta (1/4 of the box)

Rigatoni or Penne Pasta (1/2-3/4 cup)

Salt

Ragu/tomato paste

Haitian Epis (for meat)

Your choice of seasonings/spices

Scotch Bonnet Pepper

Step by Step Recipe:

1. Take the skin off of your squash and cut it into large chunks. Begin to boil them in water.

2. Begin cooking your meat in some oil, and Ragu/tomato paste. This will add color to your meat and season it according to your preference.

3. In a separate pot, put some water to boil. This is going to become the base of your soup and the pot that all the ingredients will end up in (so make sure it’s large depending on how many people you’re serving).

3. Wash your veggies and cut them up (carrots, cabbage, celery, leeks). This doesn’t include the potatoes, because they won’t take as long to cook. Let this boil.

4. When your squash is ready, you’re going to take it off the stove to let it cool (we don’t want any broken blenders y’all). After it’s cool you can begin to put the squash in the blender. Make sure there is some water in the blender from the squash pot to help create the liquid consistency. This doesn’t need to be strained with a strainer =)

5. Toss your skinned potatoes and chopped parsley in with the other veggies. Let these veggies soften up a bit.

6. Pour your squash liquid into the pot of water and veggies. Season your soup to your preferred taste.

7. Make sure your scotch bonnet pepper is in the soup to give it flavor (do not crush this and make sure to take it out after the soup is done cooking, or else your soup will be far too spicy)

7. Put your pastas of choice (spaghetti and penne/rigatoni in the soup).

8. Take your cooked meat from step 2 and put it into the soup alongside the other veggies.

Quick & Easy Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

Pasta of your choice (I prefer Penne)

Water

Salt

Bell Peppers (Red, Green, Yellow/Orange)

Onions

Matouk’s Calypso Sauce (or any Hot Sauce)

Ground Turkey

Haitian Epis

Lime

Olive Oil

Ragu

Your preferred Seasonings and Spices 

Step by Step Instructions:

1. Begin to boil your water and add salt to it.

2. Start cooking your ground turkey in a pot with olive oil. This going to become your sauce pan where the pasta will end up. 

3. Add your epis and lime to the meat. Also, add Matouk’s or hot sauce to your liking (or you can leave that out)

4. When your water is boiling, add the pasta to it and follow the directions listed on the box. When that is done cooking, you can drain it in a colander.

5. Chop your onions and bell peppers up.

6. Back to the meat lol when that is starting to brown you’re going to stir in your chopped onions and peppers . Let that cook for a bit more.

7. Add your Ragu sauce to the meat mixture.

8. Next, you’re going to add your drained pasta back into that pot with the sauce.

9. Add your preferred spices and herbs, and some more Ragu to your liking.

10. When everything is all integrated you’re pasta is ready to eat. 

*I was missing some ingredients in the video and had to work with what I had.

Haitian Legume Recipe

Ingredients:

Scallops (this is what I used here, but you can use beef cubes, seafood, etc.)

Green Onion

Lime

Olive Oil

Ragu or Tomato Paste

Cabbage

Eggplant

Carrots

Chayote (small Green squash)

Salt

Haitian Epis

Preferred Spices/Seasonings

Scotch Bonnet Pepper

Spinach

Step by Step Recipe:

1. Clean and season your meat or seafood. I used lime and epis for my scallops and let it marinate for a bit before cooking it.

2. Cook that in oil, Add your seasoning and spices to your liking.

3. Wash, peel and shred/chop your veggies.

3.Cook your eggplant and squash in water at medium heat Add your carrots and cabbage in about 20 minutes or so in because they won’t take as long as to cook. Add your spinach last. Add some ragu/tomato paste for color. Cover your pot!

4. When everything is done cooking, mash all the veggies (except for your carrots make sure to remove and chop those up)

Haitian Papaya Smoothie/Juice (Jus Papaye) Recipe

A refreshing drink perfect for the summer or just a quick snack!

Ingredients

Frozen Papayas

Evaporated Milk

Honey or Brown Sugar

Cinnamon

Step by Step Recipe:

1. I like my papayas to have a thicker consistency so I freeze them in a sandwich bag. You can also just add ice for the same effect.

2. Put your frozen papayas in a blender.

3. Add a can of evaporated milk to the blender.

4. Add cinnamon and either honey or brown sugar to your liking to the blender.

Haitian Sos Pwa Blanc & Diri Blanc (White Bean Sauce & White Rice) Recipe

Ingredients:

Cleaned, Seasoned and Marinated Beef Cubes (I usually clean my meat the night before cooking something so the seasonings can marinate overnight. If you leave the seasoning in for an hour or 2 before cooking that works too!)

White Beans (I used White Lima Beans in this recipe, but I also like the Great Northern White Beans)

Garlic

Olive Oil

Salt

Cloves

Onions

Ragu or Tomato Paste

Your Spices of Choice

Green Onions

White Rice

Step by Step Recipes:

Sos Pwa Blanc:

1. Boil your white beans in water with a couple of garlic cloves

2. While the beans are cooking, begin to prepare your beef cubes. Cook them in olive oil and a little bit of ragu/tomato paste. That is going to give them more color. You want to season the meat to your liking while it is cooking because this is what is going to give your bean sauce more flavor.

3. Stop cooking the Beans when they become tender (you’re going to blend them so you want them to be on the softer side)

4. Let your beans cool down just a bit (don’t want to crack any blenders lol) You’re going to transfer your beans to to a blender and blend them to a liquid consistency. MAKE SURE TO LEAVE SOME BEANS IN THE BEAN WATER, because is it really sos pwa without some beans still left in the sauce?

5. After blending, you’re going to use a strainer to strain your beans back into the bean water pot. Using a spoon to press down can help to get excess bean sauce out. Bring all of this back to a boil on the stove. Taste and add any additional seasoning and spices to your liking.

6. At this point, your beef cubes should be done and you can put them into the bean pot.

7. Cut up up some onions (I usually do them in half for this) and toss them in that pot too!

8. Let it cook a bit more and you’re ready to serve!

White Rice:

1. Put some oil in your pot with some green onions and let it warm up.

2. Add water to the pot. It’s easier to add water than to remove it so go easy. It all depends on how much rice you’re planning on making.

3. When your water is starting to warm up. Add your seasonings to the water and taste it to adjust the spices, salt, etc. Because you want your rice to be as white as possible stay away from “Sazon Goya”, it will turn your rice yellow/orange and lean more towards salt, garlic powder, etc.

4.Grab your rice and pour it into a bowl. Wash your rice thoroughly. 

5. I don’t usually measure my water/rice ratio and eyeball it so this is my technique: Put your washed rice in the center of whatever pot you’re using. The heap should go a couple of inches higher than the water you have in the pot already. When you start stirring the rice there should be a thin layer of water above the rice. This is the time to adjust your water before your rice starts cooking. Remove or add as necessary. With time, it’ll become easier to tell.

5. Cover your rice with a lid and let it cook. Try not stir it until it’s close to being cooked. You can tell it’s done when the water is dried up, your rice is soft and all thattt.