Trinidad Corn Soup

Ingredients

• 200 g yellow split peas
• 2 litres water
• 4 ears of sweet corn, cut into 4 cm rounds
• 300 g pumpkin, peeled and cubed
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 stalks chive or spring onion, chopped
• 2 pimento peppers, chopped
• 1 sprig thyme
• 6 leaves chadon beni (culantro), chopped, or a handful of coriander
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper, left whole
• Salt, to taste
• 150 g plain flour
• 50 g fine cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp salt, for the dumplings
• About 120 ml water, for the dumplings

Before you cook

• Rinse the split peas and soak them in cold water for 30 minutes, then drain.
• Cut the corn cobs into thick rounds.
• Chop the pumpkin, carrot, onion, garlic, chive, pimento peppers and chadon beni.
• Mix the flour, cornmeal and salt with enough water to make a stiff dough.
• Roll the dough into thin ropes and pinch off 3 cm dumplings.

Steps

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large soup pot.
2. Add the drained split peas and boil for 25 minutes until they begin to break down.
3. Stir in the onion, garlic, carrot, pumpkin, chive, pimento peppers and thyme.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes until the pumpkin collapses and thickens the broth.
5. Drop in the corn rounds and crumble in the stock cubes.
6. Add the dumplings one at a time so they do not stick together.
7. Simmer for 15 minutes until the dumplings float and the corn is tender.
8. Pour in the coconut milk and lay the whole scotch bonnet on top.
9. Simmer gently for 8 minutes, keeping it below a hard boil so the coconut milk does not split.
10. Fish out the scotch bonnet and the bare thyme stalk.
11. Stir in the chadon beni and season with salt.
12. Ladle into deep cups, making sure everyone gets corn and dumplings.