Trinidad Corn Soup
Corn soup is Trinidad street food, ladled from big pots at Sunday limes and after a night out, thick with split peas and studded with rounds of corn on the cob. The body comes from yellow split peas cooked until they collapse, no flour and no cream needed, and the sweetness from corn, pumpkin, and carrot cooked down into the broth. A whole scotch bonnet, dropped in uncut, gives the pot its unmistakable fragrance and a background heat you control by how long you leave it in. Trini cooks usually float dumplings on top; this version skips them to stay clear of refined flour, and the soup is hearty enough without. Chadon beni is the traditional finishing herb, and cilantro, its close cousin, is the easy substitute.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Yellow split peas, rinsed
- 2 cups Frozen corn
- 2 cups Butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 2 wholes Carrots, sliced
- 2 stalks Celery, chopped
- 1 whole Yellow onions, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 3 wholes Scallions, sliced
- 1 tbsp Thyme, leaves
- 1 whole Habanero, left whole and uncut
- 3 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 1 tbsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
Method
- Sweat the onion, garlic, celery, and the white parts of the scallion in a few tablespoons of water in a large pot until soft and sweet, about 8 minutes. This is the seasoning base, and cooking it in water instead of oil loses nothing, since the pot is going to simmer for an hour anyway.
- Add the rinsed split peas, the bouillon, and 8 cups (1.9 L) water. Bring to a boil, skim off the pale foam, then simmer partly covered for about 30 minutes, until the peas soften and start to break down. Trinidad corn soup is thickened by the peas dissolving, not by any flour, so let them go until the broth turns cloudy and creamy.
- Stir in the squash, carrots, corn, and thyme. The squash stands in for the West Indian pumpkin (calabaza) a Trini pot would use, and as it cooks it melts into the broth and thickens it further.
- Drop the whole habanero into the pot without cutting it. Left intact, a scotch bonnet (a habanero here) perfumes the whole pot with its apricot fragrance and slow heat without turning it painfully hot. Fish it out before it bursts if you want the aroma with only a little fire.
- Simmer another 20 minutes, until the squash is tender and the soup is thick enough to coat a spoon. Add a splash of water if it tightens too far. Grind in the black pepper.
- Finish with the scallion greens and cilantro (chadon beni is the Trini herb, and cilantro is its stand-in). Serve in deep bowls. It thickens overnight, so loosen leftovers with water when you reheat them.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 210 calories, 11 g protein, 9 g fiber, 60 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
