Categorized | Vegetarian
Hearty Pumpkin, Pigeon Peas and Christophene Soup.
Posted on 27 March 2009
Stew or Soup? In the Caribbean what we call “soup” is usually very hearty and in places like Canada and the US they would be considered “stews”. A great meal in one pot! Last fall I put this one together with the help from my mom (my personal recipe book) over the phone. Her original version did contain salted meat.
Ingredients.
25g / 1 oz butter or margarine
1 onion, chopped.
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 carrots, sliced
1 – 15g / 4 oz seeded, peeled pumpkin, chopped
1 Christophene, peeled, stoned and chopped (same size as the pumpkin)
Hearty Pumpkin Stew With Pigeon Peas and Christophene.
1 – 15g / 4 oz pigeon peas (that’s about a 1/3 of a normal can)
600 ml / 2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock.
2 sprigs of thyme (dried if you can’t get fresh)
1 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves chopped.
25-50 g / 1-2 oz coconut cream (liquid or solid)
2.5 ml / 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
hot pepper
salt
Fun Fact : The chayote (Sechium edule), also known as sayote, tayota, choko, chocho, chow-chow, christophene, mirliton, and vegetable pear, is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash.
Step 1.
Melt the butter or margarine in a large saucepan and saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes until the onion is soft. You may want to cook the onion a bit before adding the garlic, since garlic is know to burn fast and become very bitter. .
Step 2.
Stir in the carrots, pumpkin, christophene, pigeon peas, stock and thyme at this point. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Step 3.
Add the coriander, coconut, cinnamon, hot pepper and salt (to taste). Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the sauce is reduced and thick (agin to your liking.. I like mine thick) . Serve hot… garnish with coriander.
Here’s a peek at the finished product…
Do you have another version of this recipe? We welcome you to post your comments or submit your recipe and be featured on one of the fastest growing websites dedicted to Caribbean culinary culture.
Chris…
38 Responses to “Hearty Pumpkin, Pigeon Peas and Christophene Soup.”
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Oh I must try this soup some time. I love the combo. I am generally not a soup person
Cynthia’s last blog post..Lunch in the Caribbean
this soup looks amazing,guess what we’re having for dinner tonight Chris lol mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
))
[rq=4913,0,blog][/rq]Were we making ceviche all along?
i will be inviting u to my home soon
Waw! Looks great!!
can’t wait to try out!!
It sure looks good I have to try it soon.
Thanks Chris
WOW
MY MOUTH IS DRIPPING
OH GOD I LOVE SOUP SOOOOOO MUCH
.-= yanique´s last blog ..Pineapple glazed grilled chicken. =-.
Hi chris man that soup looks grreat I am not a lover of soup but maybe I could try it myself. The ingredients are wonderful for mind body and stomach. So I must congratulate u on a fine receipe combination. From glenn
I will be trying this out soon. It looks delicious! Thanks, Chris
Christ your soup is looking delicious, i certainly will try this one
.-= Pauline says:´s last blog ..The simplicity and splendor of fry plantains. =-.
Chris, this looks like something that will make you sit up straight if you’re feeling under the weather. Might put a little meat in mine along with a little pepper for some heat. Can’t wait to try it.
Christ,i certainly will be trying this mixture of soup,it
looks delicious.
Hello Chris – this looks absolutely delicious. I am a soup lover. However, it would be great if you could indicate how many people each of your recipes serves. For example, I would love to try out the recipe for the pumpkin, christophene, and pigeon peas soup, but the ingredients don’t sound like a lot. So I am wondering if this recipe serves one person, or six people. Hopefully you can add this information.
Faye, thanks for leaving your comment/question. As a starter this would serve about 4 people. But on it’s own, it’s enough for 2 people (gotta have some nice crusty bread to dip)
happy cooking
chris..
Hey Chris,
Let’s do something about the comments, so, when i print a recipe, i get just the
the recipe and not all the comments.
The soup looks good
Dean Seon
Chris what is christophene and what will be a good substitute?
Mary, great question. it’s also known as chuchu, sayote, tayota, choko, chocho, chow-chow, chayote, mirliton, vegetable pear, and pear squash is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash. Here’s a pic
It can be readily found at most supermarkets in the produce section and it’s a great addition to this dish. If all fails, check Asian and/or Latin grocery stores.
Mary, a good subsitute for christophene is green papaya if you can get it.
Hi Chris,
Amazing again! My friend at work is vegetarian and I am going to give this recipe to her from you.
For diabetics, a small bowl would be considered 1 starch serving. Great source of dietary fibre and vitamin A and protein! Consider substituting coconut cream with coconut milk if you don’t want junk in your trunk.
Yummy!
Thanks for the sharing the info.
This recipe represents a very good way to have one of my favorite i.e. pumpkin and a good way to encourage our kids to enjoy some healthy foods.
I fully agree.. but I can;t get my girls to come close to it though
Friend from Trinidad used to add ox tail (cow heels) to this. We don't get your pumpkin but have used our pumpkin in season in it's place and sweet potatoes…love the food from Trinidad. He also made what he called brown down chicken, lentils and bok (pok choy) choy served with rice .
Looking for a recipe for West Indian Bakes usually served with salt fish. Loved the pumpkin soup recipe, great flavor and texture.
I MADE IT TONIGHT FOR A COLD NEW ENGLAND NIGHT, AND IT WAS VERY, VERY GOOD.
Thanks Chris. I love soup & could eat soup every day of the year. In the past 2 weeks I've cooked oxtail soup & neck bone soup. Now I'm going to try this one. Keep the soup recipe coming
Thanks again
Love this soup recipe thanks.
Thanks for this great recipe.
I am a soup lover; especially Caribbean style soups. I will surely try this one. I love chayote so much.
My wife abhors our soup day which is mostly saturdays.
jake
Am loving Caribbean tucker reciepies from ya ta m8
Chris,
As a military family we move around alot and I've had a hard time finding our caribbean "pumpkin" so I sometimes substitute it for acorn squash which is nice and sweet. Any other suggestions as substitution for pumpkin? By the way I love Christophene, can't wait to try this soup!
I LOVE SOUP!
Hi Chris,
I can't wait to try this soup. The ingredients brought back memories of grandma making Sancoche when I was a little girl back home in Trinidad. I've just started an Events Catering business and would love any recipes you may have for Caribbean canapes….I am especially looking for a recipe for little pies made with minced beef and hot pepper……. they were hot and super tasty.
Keep the recipes coming as English and Trini friend here in England love them.
I know what we will be having on Saturday
I love soup so does my daughter, but not the Hubby..he don't know what his missing…Chris thank you for all the recipes, I can no longer cook because of ill health..now Hubby and Daughter can cook and know how much to put in and what…instead of me saying (just put some or just put enough) and soo many recipes to choose from…how lucky are we,again a big THANKS..
Thanks for this recipe Chris, I'm definitely gonna try this soup very soon
looks good
I agree with the above comment – it would be great just to be able to print the receipe only and not the comments if possible.
Select (highlight) recipe and print.
Chris, perfect timing, thank you for this recipe. The pidgeon peas are just starting to ripen in Carriacou,Grenada and I’m anxious to try this recipe with fresh pidgeon peas.
This will work great on those cold nights in England, and I absolutely love christophene. Thanks for the recipe.