Haitian Freedom Soupe Joumou Recipe (Pumpkin Soup)

Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love. 

This recipe for Haitian Freedom Soupe Joumou came from my podcast guest, Kathiana LeJeune. Make sure you listen to her episode What If We Weren't All Chicken? while you make these Haitian Freedom Soupe Joumou Recipe (Pumpkin Soup)!   

This recipe is full of flavor and it is a very, VERY filling soup that is full of nutrients. I've never once in my life considered including pasta OR plantains in pumpkin soup, but let me tell you - both are a revelation!! Like many recipes from all of our ancestors, there are no proportions given in Kathiana's authentic Soup Joumou recipe. It's a list of ingredients that you mix and match to your and your family's tastes, but I have tried to add some measurements as rough guidelines.

P.S. Looking for more soup recipes? Look no further than this Jamaican Chicken Soup recipe from my podcast guest, Ashley, or this 5-Ingredient Hungarian Dairy-Free Potato Soup recipe from my podcast guest, Dora.

Kathiana's Memories of Making Soup Joumou

Growing up, I never really liked the soup unless there was only chicken, noodles, carrots, and celery in my bowl. For the dish has several veggies within it, and what kid likes vegetables, not this one. However, the older I got the more I enjoyed the other ingredients within the soup, and I have taken pride in what the soup is and the history that it holds. Moreover, I find that my cousins and I obsess over the soup and try to tell our friends to come over and partake in the goodness of the soup. Now, looking back I have noticed the powerful means of influence that the bowl of soup holds: It holds part of my history, culture, pastimes fun, tasty bites, and memories.

-Kathiana LeJeune

Top Tip

Be patient. This is a special dish to be made for a special occasion, and since it is created only once a year, take the time to let your soup simmer and incorporate all of its flavors.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Butternut squash - you can substitute this with calabaza or any other winter squash you can find
• Meat (your preference) - turkey, chicken, or beef or goat meat, the choice is up to you
• Cow’s foot (optional) -  a great way to make the stock of the soup and it can add a nice umami flavor to your soup
• Potatoes - you can substitute this for yams or sweet potatoes
• Parsley
• Carrots
• Green cabbage
• Celery
• Plantains (optional)
• Epis - this is one of the most common blends of herbs and spices in Haiti, typically made with parsley, onion, celery, cilantro, bell pepper, scallion, chicken bouillon, thyme, garlic, fresh lime juice, olive oil, and vinegar. See this recipe from Haitian Cooking; but there are many different variations of this and Kathiana's version only uses parsley, green onion, garlic, black pepper, and oil.
• Thin pasta (vermicelli or spaghetti)
• Macaroni shells
• Vinegar
• Lime
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Green onion
• Bell pepper - your preference
• Scotch bonnet pepper - this is a very hot pepper so be careful how much you add
• Olive oil

Instructions

• Make your epis.
• Clean and season your meat and cow’s foot (optional) with vinegar, lime, and epis.
• Marinate your meat for at least one hour or overnight.
• Peel and cut the butternut squash. Peel and cut the remaining vegetables.
• Pressure cook the cow's foot on medium heat if you are adding it in.
• Place meat with stock in an enameled dutch oven or a very large stock pot with enough water to cover the meat and cook until done, then add in squash at the end.
• Keep the water from the meat and squash and put squash in the blender.
• Purée butternut squash and set aside.
• Back in the large pot, add the meat, stock, squash, remaining root vegetables, cabbage, herbs, and seasonings.
• Once this boils, add in the pasta and cook until done.

Haitian Independence Day Soup

This soup has a special meaning for Haitian people because it is a recipe that represents Haiti's independence from France. 

Here is a brief excerpt from Kelly Pauleman's book from the Visit Haiti's website, Soup Joumou - The Taste of Freedom, of some of the conditions of the French colonial rule of Haiti and why Haitian people gather with their family members and friends and eat this Haitian pumpkin soup every year on January 1st (New Year's Day) to celebrate their victory during the Haitian revolution as an independent nation and the freedom of enslaved people:

In 19th-century Haiti, living conditions for slaves were unspeakably awful...Slave masters denied these people as much as possible, even seemingly trivial things, especially if those things were associated with the lifestyle of Haiti’s French slave-owning bourgeoise. One tradition that was well established within the bourgeoisie was that of having soup joumou. Some households could afford to make it several times a week, others only on Sundays, but a bowl of soup joumou was never to be seen in the hands or mouths of a slave... Therefore, in the first years of the 19th century, slaves and free black Haitians led a successful revolution... As a potent symbol of the abundance that had been denied them for hundreds of years, the newly free population appropriated the food most symbolic of freedom: soup joumou.

-Kelly Pauleman, excerpt from Visit Haiti website

Equipment

• Large bowl
• Blender OR food processor
• Large pot
• Enameled dutch oven
• Pressure cooker (optional)

Storage

• Once cooled, store soup for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
• Freeze for up to 3 months in freezer bags or other airtight containers.

More Caribbean Recipes

More New Year's Recipes

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Recipe

Soup Joumou (From Haitian-American Kathiana LeJeune)

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.4 from 7 reviews

• Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

A symbolic Haitian dish eaten every New Year’s Day – based on pumpkin and full of vegetables, protein, pasta, and flavor!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Epis Seasoning

• 1 bell pepper (or a mix of different peppers that equals one whole bell pepper)
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1 cup green onion (about 6)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or your preferred oil)
• Black pepper (to taste)

Soup

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 2 pounds meat (turkey, chicken, or beef)
• Cow’s foot (optional)
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 lime
• 2 large potatoes
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 1/2 cups green cabbage
• 1 stock celery
• 1 medium plantain (optional)
• 1 sprig parsley
• 1 cup Epis seasoning
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper *See Note 1
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 1 cup macaroni shells
• 1 cup thin pasta (vermicelli or spaghetti)

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Instructions

Cue Up The Episode!

Make sure to listen to Kathiana LeJeune on The Storied Recipe Podcast, What If We Weren’t All Chicken? while you make her Soup Joumou recipe!

Make The Epis Spice Blend

1. In a blender or food processor, blend together bell pepper, parsley, green onion, garlic, bell pepper, black pepper, and olive oil.

Prep Process

1. Clean and season your meat options and cow’s foot (optional) with vinegar and lime, rinse off with water, then marinate the meat with the epis blend for at least an hour or overnight.
2. Once the meat has marinated, peel the skin of the butternut squash and cut it into cubes. Peel and dice the other vegetables (potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and celery).

Cooking Process

1. In a large stockpot, add 5-6 cups of water (or until the meat is fully covered), bring to a boil, and add the marinated meat and cow's foot if you are using it. Boil for about 40 minutes or until you can easily pierce it with a fork, and about 10 minutes before the meat is done, add the squash to the pot.
2. Once both the meat and squash are done, remove the squash and meat. Get another bowl and using a colander, strain the water from the pot into the bowl. This is your stock, set aside.
3. Put the cooked squash in a food processor or blender and blend the squash until smooth.
4. Back in the pot, add your meat (and cow foot), the stock, the pureed squash, and the remaining ingredients: carrots, potatoes, celery, cabbage, plantains (optional), thyme, salt, black pepper, scotch bonnet pepper (take this out when it gets soft unless you like your food to be really spicy!), and boil until just done.
5. Reduce heat to low, add both types of pasta to the pot, and boil until pasta is done.
6. Once soup is ready serve it hot. It is usually accompanied by sliced Haitian bread and either ginger tea or hot chocolate.

Notes

• Note 1: Make sure to take this out when it becomes soft or your soup will be very spicy 
• Make sure to listen to Kathiana LeJeune on The Storied Recipe Podcast, "What If We Weren’t All Chicken?" With Haitian-American Kathiana LeJeune while you make her Soup Joumou recipe!

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Category: Main, Soup
• Cuisine: Caribbean, Haitian

Nutrition

• Calories: 548
• Sugar: 7
• Sodium: 86
• Fat: 20
• Saturated Fat: 4
• Carbohydrates: 69
• Fiber: 7
• Protein: 24
• Cholesterol: 58