I was hankering for this soup I had as a child. I remembered it was Jamaican and green and had these great thin dumplings that bobbed up and down. Shanika’s Immune-Boosting Green Veggie Swamp Soup is the closest I’ve found and it’s fantastic! The dumplings are spheres instead of cylinders, so I’ll try a different shape next time.
I’ve adapted her recipe to what I usually have on hand and increased the amount of dumplings. In the future, I’d like to merge the green seasoning with the soup to make it even simpler.
Jamaican Green Seasoning
This will make more than enough seasoning for the soup.
Add to a high-powered blender:
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 0.5 bunch parsley
- 2 celery stalks, organic
- 4 green onions
- 10 garlic cloves
- 8 whole allspice berries or 0.25 tsp allspice powder
- 1 onion
- handful of fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper, only if you like it spicy
- 0.5 red bell pepper
- 1 inch ginger root, peeled
- juice from 1-2 limes
- 0.75 cup filtered water
Blend until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. You may need to add more water.
Refrigerate extras in a well-sealed jar.
Kale
Add to a large bowl:
- 1 bunch organic kale, stems removed + roughly chopped
- Enough water to cover the leaves
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
Soak for 12 minutes.
Drain. Rinse twice and set aside.
Or skip this step and use spinach.
Green Leaf Broth
Add your green leaves (kale or spinach) to a dutch oven (or other large pot). Add:
- 4 cups water
Bring to a boil and cook for 7 minutes until wilted.
Use a skimmer/spider to scoop the leaves to a bowl of ice cold water to halt cooking. After 3 minutes, drain and set aside.
Set aside the water in the pot (that you cooked with) for later.
Soup
Add the reserved cooking water and the cooked green leaves to a blender along with:
- 2 cups chicken bone broth or stock
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 inches ginger root, peeled and minced
- 1 celery stalk
- 2 scallions or green onions
- 1 cup parsley
Blend until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. You may need to add more water.
Add to the dutch oven:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
Sauté until translucent and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
Add:
- 2 tbsp Jamaican Green Seasoning, above
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of black pepper
Stir until combined.
Add blended greens and:
- 1 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole
- 3 baby Yukon or Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 tsp sugar
If you don’t want it too spicy, then make sure the scotch bonnet doesn’t break open. You want the whole pepper to give some flavour without opening up and pouring out spice. If you want it spicy, then chop up another seeded scotch bonnet.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 12 minutes. Soup won’t be done yet, because we need to cook with the dumplings.
Jamaican Spinner Dumplings
Whisk together in a clean bowl:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 0.5 tsp of salt
Drip in a bit at a time:
- up to 6 tbsp filtered water, only as much as necessary
Don’t add all the water at once! Drip it in and knead until a stiff dough forms. If the dough is too moist the dumplings will fall apart in the soup.
Pinch small pieces of dough and roll in your hands to make a quarter-sized ball. Repeat for remaining dough.
Add the dough balls to the soup and stir them in gently. Simmer for 10 minutes until potatoes are tender and dumplings are cooked through.
Taste for seasoning. May need more salt.
Remove from heat, discard thyme sprigs, and serve.
