I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last update! How did I go from weekly posts to not writing for two and a half months! Well now that the holidays and the first half of January are behind us I can honestly say: Baby I’m back! Get ready for tons of soup recipes, because when it’s cold, all we want is soup right?
I’ve been busy working on a recipe book with the most popular soups in Suriname, and today’s recipe is the first of a dozen. Where in most places soup is consumed as an appetizer or a course of a complete meal, we use our soups as a whole meal. By adding meat, carbs and vegetables, you’ll feel so full there’s no room for a “next” course! Except maybe dessert 🙂
For this soup we are using cassava, also known as yuca, the South American potato. You can buy this root fresh in many U.S. grocery stores or markets, but it can be tricky to peel the brown and pink skin. Adding to that my many disappointments in bad cassava roots, I am only using frozen yuca now. You can find these in the freezer section of Publix, Kroger or Walmart (together with other international food).
Cassava has a mild flavor you can enhance by adding more herbs, salt, pepper or hot sauce. Get your soup pot out, because here’s the recipe to try out Cassava soup.
Cassava Soup (Surinamese)
Ingredients
- 1 lb cassava chunks (frozen)
- 1/2 lb cubed salted beef
- 1/2 lb chicken with bone
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp bouillon powder or 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp celery chopped
- 3-4 cups water
- Salt & pepper
- 5 allspice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 habanero pepper optional
Instructions
- Boil and rinse the salted beef twice to reduce saltiness.
- Cut and rinse the chicken, sprinkle with salt.
- Boil 3-4 cups of water, add salted beef, chicken, onion, garlic, celery, bouillon, spices and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add cassava and whole pepper (do not cut!), cook for another 15 minutes on medium heat until it’s done.
- Scoop cassava out and cut in smaller chunks. (You can also do this before adding the cassava to the pot.) Continue cooking the soup until the meat is tender, and finish to taste.
Serve with rice, hot pepper and enjoy!
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