Bouillon is a hearty and slightly thick Haitian soup made with meat, epis, yams, kelp, cabbage, plantains, potatoes, scotch bonnet peppers, and celery. It is sometimes served with small dumplings which are made by rolling the flour into a small amount of broth.
The name of the soup is derived from the French word bouillir, meaning to boil. It is recommended to serve bouillon piping hot, preferably on rainy days.
This hearty Trini soup is made with cow heel as the key ingredient. Everyone on the island has their own variation of the soup, so different vegetables might be added to the pot, and some people like to add dumplings, while others opt out of them, according to personal preferences.
Typically, the soup contains ingredients such as onions, split peas, okra, and carrots. Before serving, cow heel soup is additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, then served hot in large bowls or plates.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Sopa de mondongo is a term that is widely used all across Central and South America when referring to a hearty tripe and vegetable soup. The star of the dish is beef or pork tripe, the rather tough edible part of animal stomach which is cut into smaller pieces and cooked with other ingredients in a flavorful broth.
Different versions of the soup are found all across Latin America, where it has been adapted with locally available ingredients and spices. Typically, sopa de mondongo employs plain and sweet potatoes, cassava, corn, cabbage, plantains, onions, sliced avocado, and generous amounts of chopped cilantro, which is used as a garnish.
Haitian pumpkin soup is traditionally served on New Year's Day as a celebratory reminder of Haiti's hard-won liberation from slavery and independence from France. The soup was once a delicacy reserved only for white masters, while the slaves who prepared it were forbidden to eat it, but ever since January 1, 1804 — the day when Haitian revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti’s independence—joumou has become a symbol of liberty that graces every Haitian's table on the first of every January.
Apart from pumpkin or squash, the thick, savory joumou is loaded with various other vegetables, beef, and flavorings such as thyme, parsley, and chili peppers.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Asopao is a Puerto Rican dish that is best described as a cross between a soup and a stew. It always contains rice, and can be made with beef, pork, seafood, pigeon peas, or chicken – which is also the most popular and traditional version of asopao, called asopao de pollo, where the chicken is typically flavored with various spices and cooked with ham, peppers, onions, tomatoes, olives, and sausages.
Due to the fact that asopao is usually very filling and flavorful, it can be found in numerous local restaurants and most households.
VARIATIONS OF Asopao
Jamaican fish tea is a light soup or a fish broth seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme, unlike other Jamaican soups that are usually hearty and thick. It features small, inexpensive fish such as herrings, and vegetables such as bell peppers, carrots, onions, and green bananas.
Some believe that the soup is a strong aphrodisiac, and it can be found throughout Jamaica, where it is usually sold at beach shacks.
MOST ICONIC Fish Tea
Fish broth is a flavorful Trini soup made with vegetables, fresh herbs, fish, and either pasta or dumplings. It is believed that the broth tastes even better the next day when it gets reheated. The dish varies from one household or restaurant to the next one, since the flavor of the broth depends on how the fish is marinated and seasoned.
Fish broth is traditionally served as a main dish, unlike other countries where soups are typically served as a starter.
Sopa de pollo y fideos is a classic Puerto Rican chicken soup with noodles, a comforting dish that is best consumed on chilly or rainy days. It is made with chicken pieces, chicken stock, sofrito, olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, noodles, and various spices.
The noodles are added near the end of cooking because they only need a short amount of cooking time to become tender and fully cooked. It is believed that this soup tastes the best when reheated the next day.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Asopao de gandules is a variety of Puerto Rican asopao, made with pigeon peas as the key ingredient. They are typically combined with onions, ham, sofrito, chicken stock, rice, tomato sauce, and olive oil. The result is a hearty stew that is often enriched with plantain dumplings, when the dish is known as asopao de gandules con bolitas de platano.
Chock-full of Hispanic ingredients, the stew is ready for consumption when thickened, and the rice is fully cooked. It is recommended to serve it warm, but it can also be reheated and enjoyed the next day.
Callaloo is Carribean soup made with a combination of leafy vegetables such as dasheen or spinach, coconut milk, salted meat, yams, onions, peppers, green bananas, and dumplings consisting of flour and cornmeal. Once done, callaloo is served on its own or with toasted bread and avocado slices.
The soup is traditionally consumed during the carnival season, but it's also regularly prepared at local parties and in roadside bars as an energy booster.
MOST ICONIC Callaloo
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