Callaloo Soup

I've been disappointed in myself for not attempting to cook anything local in the past year. Meaning, although I've used locally-grown vegetables and we eat locally-baked bread, I haven't actually cooked a dish that is popular here that we do not eat in America.

I stick to what I know using the imported ingredients sold at the "American" grocery store. Now I understand why immigrants at home shop at Fiesta. It's just easier/less intimidating to prepare what is familiar.

So on a whim I bought a little bag of chopped callaloo which is the spinach of Grenada. Callaloo looks like a variety of what we call "elephant ear" in America. A quick google search tells me that it is in fact in the same family or even the same thing. It's just never caught on as a food in the US.[So you can try this at home, but make sure you cook the callaloo for awhile - it is poisonous raw.]

The cost of this little bag of chopped greens was about $1 EC which is equivalent to almost nothing in US money. That's a smart buy especially when the imported vegetables and fruit here are outrageously expensive and go bad practically before you get home.

Callaloo is popular in a lot of dishes but I see it most in soup. And people eat a lot of soup here. It is on the menu everywhere. Which surprises me since soup is the last thing I want to eat in these tropical temperatures. To me it is a winter food. In the absence of winter though, it becomes just like any other hot food. Something to eat year round.

So back to my cooking experience, I spontaneously bought the callaloo and figured I could try making a soup with it. I looked up a few recipes when I got home but didn't have all the ingredients for any of them so I created a little hybrid recipe. Sometimes callaloo soup is chunky with okra (also a popular local vegetable) and seafood, but I've had a pureed version that I like so that is what I tried.

I sauteed some onions and garlic, added some coconut milk and vegetable broth, a pinch of red pepper flakes and the callaloo, boiled it for 30 minutes and then threw it in the blender (always keep your hand on the lid while blending, doh).

It turned out pretty good although it would be more exciting with some additional ingredients. Next I think I'll try the pumpkin soup which is another local favorite and quite tasty. Hopefully I can expand my culinary skills a bit more in the time we have left here. Not to mention save some money on some locally grown produce.

Callaloo soup - I know it looks straight out of The Exorcist, but trust me, it's good

P.S. Can I get a book deal now?? I am transforming my life through Caribbean cooking! It could be called Julie and Rasta.