Trinidad & Tobago Corn Soup
This warm and flavorful soup is perfect for the cold and warm weather. Packed full of flavor from the sweet corn to the succulent dumplings and a little bit of pepper.
Can you imagine that it's almost the end of February already? We are about to head into the 3rd month of the year, ALREADY!! And it's also Carnival time in Trinidad and Tobago. Dubbed the Greatest Show in the World I can honestly say it is definitely an experience worth having. Though I am not in the land of oil and water celebrating this year, I'm sharing with you one of the many popular foods from the country, especially around this time.
Corn soup is just is ram packed with split peas, corn, dumplings, provisions and the flavors are thick and heavy... and delicious. It's the perfect "pick up" after a night of feteing, drinking and dancing the night (or day) away.
Now like most recipes for soups especially, there's no HARD rules for making this. SO many variations for what can be used to make the base, but it MUST have corn, but for me, it MUST have dumplings. It can be regular dumplings, whole wheat dumplings, cassava dumplings or even cornmeal dumplings. I can do with just those two things alone as the main stars but don't be scared to find plantains, sweet potato, tania, Idaho potatoes cassava, or even pigtails in corn soup. Some like it spicy, some don't.
Corn soup takes a little love but I can assure you it is worth it. The flavors need to blend and merge and simmer together to get that deep flavor. It's that base that makes the soup so delicious.
When you order this soup after a party or just from a regular vendor, they give it to you in a nice styrofoam cup, warm and packed. Just the fact of holding the warm cup and the aroma from the soup excites you. Honestly, I think that the soup tastes most amazing when in the cup, haha, but that might just be the "too much alcohol" talking in that situation.
Carrot, corn, dumplings sweet potato. Can you really go wrong here? How can you not want this?
INGREDIENTS:
6 ears of fresh corn
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 large carrot, sliced into discs
1/2 cup diced green bell peppers
1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
2/3 cup yellow split peas
1 scotch bonnet pepper
Pepper sauce (to taste)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 med tania (or sweet potato), diced
2 sprigs thyme
2 cups stock + 1 cup stock
3 cups water + 3 cups water
2 leaves shado beni, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
For Dumplings
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut 5 ears of corn into about 2-inch pieces and set aside.
Shave off corn kernels off of the remaining corn cob
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, over med-high heat.
Add onions, garlic, and celery to oil and saute till onions are opaque.
Add split peas and shaved corn and stir well
Add thyme to pot and saute another 2 minutes
Add 3 cups water, 2 cups stock, tania and shado beni to pot, and bring to boil.
Lower stove to a low boil until split peas is cooked (about 30 minutes) Note: add more water if split peas is not soft enough and more boil time is needed
Once split peas are softened, use back of a spoon to mash them up a bit.
Add coconut milk, scotch bonnet pepper, and 3 cups water and bring to a slow boil
Make dumplings at this point and break into balls or roll into logs
Add corn discs, dumplings, carrots and bell peppers to pot
Add salt and pepper and pepper sauce to taste
Boil until dumplings are cooked (about 15 minutes)
For dumplings
Knead water and flour together