I came across this soup on a trip that I took to Jamaica. It seems that there are endless variations, some vegetarian, others with tripe, and the ingredients vary as well. In Jamaica there are two ingredients that are consistently included, scotch bonnets and calalloo. Scotch bonnet peppers (you can sub habaneros) are a local pepper and calolloo is a leafy green, similar to spinach (which you can substitute) but firmer and a very slightly more bitter flavor.
A lot of the versions of this soup call for tripe, which is one of the few things that I don't particularly care for. It's not a flavor thing but a texture thing, so instead of including tripe I switched it to some ham. The variations in flavors that you can put into this soup are vast. Adding other vegetables, increasing the sugars, heat, etc. The version I've included here is well balanced with a bite, but not overwhelmingly hot. The traditional garnish for this, is a scotch pepper relish that you find in many other Jamaican dishes.
An item to note, you should wear gloves when dealing with habaneros or other peppers that are exceptionally hot. In addition to the seeds and the actual peppers, they release oils that will stay on your skin and are very difficult to remove. If you haven't had the pleasure, accidentally rubbing your hands on your face or eyes after touching a hot pepper, is very unpleasant.
Ingredients
Ham, small diced 2 oz.
Chicken Stock 3 qt
Habanero, fine dice 2 ea
Garlic, sliced 6 cloves
Ginger, minced 2 oz
Allspice, toasted ground 1 T
Coriander seed, toasted ground 2 tsp
Mustard seed, toasted ground 1 tsp
Oil 3 T
Soy sauce 1/4 cup
Worcestershire 1 T
Onion, diced 1 cup
Okra (fresh or frozen, sliced) 12 oz
Sweet potato, diced 1 ea
Scallion, chopped 2 bunches
Calalloo (fresh or canned) 18 oz.
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish
Diced Habanero
Method of Procedure
Toast allspice, coriander, and mustard seed and grind in a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle). If you don't have access to a grinder you can sub ground, just halve the amounts.
Saute onions, garlic, habanero, and ginger with the ground spices until softened. Add your diced ham and continue to saute for an additional 20 minutes.
Add your calalloo to your soup. If you are using fresh, rinse, stem and chop then add; if using cans open and drain and add.
Next add your okra and saute for another 20 minutes. If using frozen, just add them to the soup. If using fresh, slice them into 1 inch pieces and add.
Add the sweet potato and chicken stock and bring to a quick boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.
Add the chopped scallions and cook for another hour.
Season to taste.
To serve, ladle into bowl and garnish with diced habaneros.
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