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Haitian bouyon
Bouyon: Saturday beef soup with roots, greens and dumplings
Saturday in Haiti means bouyon: a big, thick soup of beef, root vegetables, greens and little flour dumplings, simmered all morning and ladled up at midday as a meal in a bowl. Every family has its own mix of yam, malanga, potato, carrot, plantain and watercress or spinach, with a whole hot pepper for perfume. The common mistake is adding the roots all at once at the start, so the softer ones disintegrate; the dense ones go first. It feeds a crowd and tastes better reheated. Chef's tip: squeeze a little lime into the soup bowl just before eating, as many Haitians do, to brighten the rich broth.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ lb stewing beefcut into 3 cm cubes
- 1 limejuiced, plus wedges to serve
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 litres water
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 scotch bonnet pepperwhole
- 14 oz yampeeled, in chunks
- 10 ½ oz malanga or taropeeled, in chunks
- 1 green plantainpeeled, in 3 cm slices
- 10 ½ oz potatoespeeled, in chunks
- 2 carrotsin thick slices
- 7 oz white cabbageshredded
- 5 ½ oz watercress or spinach
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- ½ cup cold water
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Season 1 ¾ lb stewing beef with 1 lime, 2 tbsp Haitian epis (green seasoning) and 1 tsp salt and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
60 minStep 2: Brown the beef in 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a very large pot over a medium-high heat for 8 minutes. Stir in 2 tbsp tomato purée and the rest of 2 tbsp Haitian epis (green seasoning) for 1 minute.
9 minStep 3: Add 3 litres water, 4 sprigs thyme, 4 whole cloves and 1 scotch bonnet pepper, bring to the boil, skim, then simmer covered for 1 hour, until the beef is nearly tender.
60 minStep 4: Add 14 oz yam, 10 ½ oz malanga or taro and 1 green plantain and simmer 15 minutes.
15 minStep 5: Meanwhile mix 5 ½ oz plain flour, a pinch of salt and ½ cup cold water into a firm dough and roll into small finger-length dumplings.
Step 7: Add 7 oz white cabbage and 5 ½ oz watercress or spinach and cook 10 minutes, until every root is soft, the dumplings are firm and the broth has thickened from the starches. Season with the rest of 1 tsp salt, remove the pepper and serve with lime wedges.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 460 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does haitian bouyon take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of lime?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of tomato purée?
- Ketchup, same amount (sweeter).
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