In Memory Of Karen Nicole Smith, 1972 - 2016

Using Salted Cod As A Base For A Delectable Caribbean Soup.


trini food soup recipe (11)

Soup is a common Saturday meal throughout the islands that make up the Caribbean and it’s one of those one pot meals that truly brings family and friends together. When we first immigrated to Canada there were but a sprinkle of people with Caribbean heritage in Hamilton. My little group of friends included a fella from Jamaica, one from Dominica and how could I forget my good friend Carlos who was from Barbados. We did just about everything together, especially since when you’re new to a country you tend to latch on to anything which gives you the slightest security and comradeship of “home”. I love my Trinbagonian food and it’s something I could never repeat to my mom or grandmother, but this soup was the best I’ve ever had. Between Carlos, his sister and I, I think we ate the entire pot – no joke!  The last time I was in Barbados I searched in vain for a restaurant in Bridgetown hoping to find a spot where I could sample some home style soup… no luck.

This soup cannot compare to that soup which is forever stuck in my mind from all those years ago, but when my grandmother would make this we’d eat bowlfuls.

You’ll Need…

1/2 lb salted cod (any dry salted fish)
1 carrot diced
8 ochro (okra) diced
3 medium potatoes cubed
1 lb yam cubed
1 lb eddoes
3 sprigs thyme
4 green cooking bananas
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 hot pepper (scotch bonnet or habanero)
1 large onion diced
3 cloves garlic sliced
1 can coconut milk (about 1.25 cups)
salt to taste (see note below)
1 cup split peas (dry)
8 cups of water
1 tablespoon veg oil

* In the recipe I have 1 cup split peas and this is what’s traditionally used, but I opted for a dry peas mix. Which to be honest didn’t work as well as I planned.

* In the recipe you’ll notice that I also mentioned green bananas. However my pot wasn’t big enough and I didn’t have room to add it at the end. I’ll be using those for another recipe.

* To help quicken the cooking time of the split peas, feel free to soak them in cool water overnight, then drain when you’re ready to put into the soup.

Since I had to deal with the small pot issue, I couldn’t put the star of this soup – dumplings. If you need the recipe for making the flour dumplings, do let me know in the comment section below. They’re added the last 10 minutes of cooking.

trini food soup recipe

Start off by soaking the dry salted fish in water for a few minutes (normally when using salted fish like this we either soak overnight then boil or soak in boiling hot water for an hr or so, but there’s no need with this recipe) then rinse off and strip into smaller pieces.

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In a large pot (be smarter than me) heat the oil on med to high heat and add the pieces of salted fish to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes (until it starts to brown and stick to the bottom of the pot) then add the garlic and onion. Cook that for a few minutes on medium heat as we don’t want to burn the garlic.

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After the onion starts to go soft and translucent, add the peas (remember to wash it before adding) and sliced carrots and give it good stir. (in the pic below you’ll see the dry peas mix I used and regret. Should have stuck to the split peas instead – lesson learned.

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Add the coconut milk, thyme, black pepper, hot pepper, ochro and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook covered until the split peas is fully cooked. Takes about 45-50 minutes. As it cooks it will start to thicken.

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While this does it’s thing, peel and cube the ground provisions (yam, eddoes, green bananas and potato), please try to cut them all the same size so they cook uniformly when we add them to the pot. In a previous soup recipe I posted, several people said that they parboil the provision separately. Wash the pieces off under cool water, then place in a large bowl and cover with water to prevent them from going discolored while we wait for the peas to fully cook.

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The peas mix I used, took about 1 hour to get soft, this is when I added the provisions to the pot. Bring to a boil again, then turn down the heat to a simmer (with pot covered) and cook for about 15 minutes (until the provisions is fully cooked). If you’re adding dumplings to the soup do so the last 10 minutes or so, of cooking. IMPORTANT! You’ll notice that I didn’t add salt. This is because the salted cod that I used is packed with tons of salt and after tasting at the end I noticed that I didn’t have to add any. I recommend that you taste the soup to see if there’s enough salt for your taste.

* If you’re worried about the hot pepper in the ingredients list, add it whole and fish it out when the soup is done cooking. For that extra kick, burst open the pepper near the end and it will blaze-up this dish.

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Be prepared to fall asleep after eating a good bowl of this. I had a good nap then when back for 2nd’s!  Maybe I can get someone from Barbados to share their classic soup recipe with me, as through the years Carlos and I have drifted apart and I don’t have that connection any longer. Wait! Securing that soup could be a good reason to visit Barbados again, especially when it gets nasty-cold during the winter months 🙂

Please leave me your comments below and don’t forget to tell your friends about the website. One more thing… If you’re not already part of our facebook fan group, do so now by clicking the image below. It’s one of the largest groups on facebook dedicated to exploring the culinary culture of the Caribbean islands.

caribbean recipe on facebook

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22 Comments

  1. Bernice Martin
    November 26, 2016 / 11:25 pm

    Looks interesting never had this before will try.

  2. Ed M
    September 4, 2016 / 6:20 am

    Always love your recipes.

    This one calls for “green cooking bananas.” Is that the same as a plaintain? Is it just an unripe regular banana? Where does one buy them?

    Peace.

    Ed

  3. Charis
    May 20, 2016 / 4:21 pm

    Looks really good! I found this whilst searching for salted fish recipes as I’m in Italy for holiday and just bought some! I usually use them to make fish congee for my kids, typical Chinese style. Just one comment, for A Sian cooking we usually put in the coconut milk at the end just before turning off the fire to retain the flavor and creaminess. So you might want to try avoiding overbooking with coconut milk.

  4. Donna
    November 3, 2015 / 4:09 pm

    This sounds really interesting! I trust you totally and you have neverlet me down with your recipes so will try this!

  5. EKD
    July 12, 2014 / 7:43 am

    Very much need dumpling recepie!!

  6. February 20, 2014 / 4:37 pm

    This recipe reminds me of Sancoche, which my late Auntie Carmen used to make in Trinidad when I was a child. The only difference was the use of some salt pork, either pig tail or pig snout. It was the only way that I would eat ground provisions. And I loved the dumplings that were included particularly if they had a little sugar. YUMMY!
    Chris, thanks for all that you do to keep Caribbean cuisine alive and kicking.

  7. ptmaduro
    February 4, 2014 / 12:36 pm

    Thank you SO much for this yummy recipe. I made it today for lunch and it’s a keeper! I used yucka instead of eddoes. I also used dumplings. SO delicious! Next time I will add more salt fish though.

  8. katia
    January 18, 2014 / 3:39 am

    Hey there Chris, I wanted to congratulate you for your work. love your food and Charisma. Although I’m not Jamaica or Trinidadian I grew up eating a lot of the food or dishes you share with the public. I love the similarities and diversity every island has when preparing these dishes. Even though I no longer have access to this kind of food anymore I try my best to make some dishes myself the only problem is that I can not find some of the ingredients here in Fresno CA. Please, please tell me if there is a way I how can get those ingredients to be shipped here to CA? I would really appreciate it!

    your Dominican follower

    • Krishna
      January 21, 2014 / 4:59 pm

      You can try some of the oriental stores in the area. Most of them usually carry the items although they go by the names from their country. The best ones to check are the Vietnamese and Thai stores.

  9. Sasha
    November 20, 2013 / 10:30 pm

    Amazing recipe, you never fail! I just finished my second bowl and as the flavours linger in my mouth in thinking about going for a third lol! I make a soup similar to this passed down from my husbands family (they are from Guyanna), but this salt fish twist just takes it to another level! I can’t say that I’m upset that I can now make better soup than my hubby’s mom tee hee!!! Thx so much and I’ll honestly be making this twice a month now!

  10. Chris too
    April 16, 2013 / 5:47 pm

    I'm making this now, with my own special touches. So far it's slamming. I've made ground provision soup before, but this seemed like a nice take on it, and well, I had bought some bone-in salt cod, yellow Jamaican name, batata, yuca, scotch bonnets, thyme, and even shado beni, so what else was I to do?:) I put some flour on the fish before sauteeing.

  11. March 24, 2013 / 5:43 pm

    Dumplings recipe please!!!
    By the way my mother never had the patience to teach me to cook Trini. So when my boys started asking…you are a G-dsend!! Love the book as well
    Thanks
    Marlon

  12. Richard
    March 2, 2012 / 11:53 pm

    i used saltfish with rice and of course buljol but never tried it in a soup.Will try it for sure..I love soup especially with split peas in it,Thanks Chris

  13. Sandra
    February 29, 2012 / 1:08 pm

    Chris, I've never made soup with salt fish. I've always used chicken or pig tails. I'll surely try this one and I'll add a little golden ray margarine a few minutes before it's done cooking. Thanks for the receipe Chris and God bless!

  14. debbie
    February 7, 2012 / 10:33 pm

    I was intrigued with the salt fish base, so threw together this soup with some edoes, cassava and split peas. I can only say, I ate ’till me belly bust. Shame on you Chris for posting this delectable recipe. If I never remember anything else, I’ll be making this soup for a long long time.

  15. Jay
    July 18, 2011 / 10:47 am

    I have to try this recipe. Just reading it made me hungry.

  16. Mona
    April 19, 2011 / 8:10 pm

    I made this recipes today. It was superb! This will be my go-to split pea soup from here on out.Thanks for sharing!

  17. February 4, 2011 / 8:08 pm

    Salt fish really gives things a one-of-a-kind flavour eh?

    Soup looks rich and nice.

  18. omgjsc
    November 19, 2010 / 6:32 am

    I made this yummy dish yesterday. I would like to say within 1 1/2 hours I was eating.
    I did not use okra (dislike) and had no carrots. I used a half a cup of mixed frozen vegetables. It was not as thick as it would have been with the okra but it was delish. I even added dumplings!
    Thanks Chris. Keep on Cooking.

  19. Sharon
    November 11, 2010 / 11:52 pm

    I've never made soup with salt fish, but I will try it out on Saturday, that's my soup day too.

  20. Rae
    November 7, 2010 / 4:43 am

    Do u really add the okras so soon?

  21. Sav
    October 29, 2010 / 6:33 pm

    Great recipe!!!

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