Recipes extracted from The Perfect Blend by Tess Masters. Published by Jacqui Small - out now.
Haitian Heaven
This vegan version of the soupe joumou that Haitians devour on New Year’s Day, and on Sundays all year, will rock your world. Chef Danielle Jean-François and her sister Michelle helped me tweak their grandma’s recipe. Instead of using the traditional – and super-hot – habanero chillies, to keep the heat consistent we spiced things up with chilli flakes and some cayenne, then stirred in coconut oil in place of butter and soured cream.
This soup’s typically served with a ton of bread and butter and a buffet of toppings. Use the avocado, salad onion and nut boosters, or experiment with hot sauce, roasted aubergine, sautéed mushrooms or kale chips. However you serve it, one sensational spoonful will make you wonder how you’ve ever been happy without Haitian.
Ingredients:
- 1 kabocha squash, cut into 8 pieces and deseeded
- 2.8 litres (5 pints) vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 150 g (51⁄2 oz) yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 160 g (53⁄4 oz) carrot, diced
- 132 g (41⁄2 oz) celery, diced
- 1 tbsp natural salt (see page 139), plus extra to taste
- 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme, plus extra to taste
- 200 g (7 oz) green cabbage, shredded
- 100 g (31⁄2 oz) leek (white part), chopped
- 135 g (41⁄2 oz) turnip, peeled and diced
- 300 g (101⁄2 oz) orange-flesh sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 150 g (51⁄2 oz) potato, peeled and diced
- 140 g (5 oz) green pepper, deseeded and diced
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1⁄2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus extra to taste
- 1⁄4 tsp chilli flakes, plus extra to taste
- 1⁄4 tsp ground cloves
- Pinch of cayenne pepper, plus extra to taste (optional)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (in liquid form)
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus extra to serve
- 14 g (1⁄2 oz) finely chopped coriander
Optional boosters:
- 1 avocado, stoned, peeled and sliced
- 55 g (2 oz) raw pecans or 70 g
- (21⁄2 oz) cashews
- 20 g (3⁄4 oz) salad onion (white and green parts), finely chopped
Method:
- Throw the kabocha squash pieces into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes until the squash is fork tender. Allow to cool slightly, then scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. You should have about 850 g (1 lb 13 oz) of squash. Working in batches, throw the squash flesh into your blender with 720 ml (11⁄4 pints) of the vegetable stock and blast on high for about 30 seconds until puréed. Set aside.
- In a large pot over a medium heat, warm the oil and sauté the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, 1 teaspoon of the salt and 2 tablespoons of the thyme for about 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the cabbage, leek, turnip, sweet potato, potato, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, chilli flakes, cloves, cayenne, the squash mixture, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the remaining stock. Cover, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to medium and cover partially.
- Cook at a high simmer for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are just tender. Allow to cool slightly. Stir in the coconut oil, lemon juice, coriander, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and the remaining tablespoon of thyme. Tweak the salt, thyme, chilli flakes, black pepper and cayenne to taste.
- Serve with a buffet of boosters, extra lemon juice and any other toppings you like.