House recipe 05 · Trini Corn Soup
Late-Night Trini Corn Soup
Corn soup is what Trinidad eats standing up — ladled thick from a drum pot outside the fete at two in the morning, sweet corn rounds and flour dumplings sunk into a split pea broth. Our version builds that same body on a home stove: peas cooked until they break, pumpkin collapsing into the pot, coconut milk rounding everything out. The pepper sauce goes in near the end so the Scotch bonnet stays bright and fruity, then sits on the table the way every vendor keeps a bottle by the ladle.
- Serves
- 6 to 8
- Active
- 40 minutes
- Total
- About 1 hour 45 minutes
The cook
- 01
Build the base
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium. Add the onion, garlic, pimentos, and green seasoning and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the pot smells like the seasoning and the onion is soft.
- 02
Cook down the peas
Add the split peas and water, bring to a boil, and skim any foam. Simmer partly covered 35 to 40 minutes, until the peas are soft and starting to break apart, then whisk the pot briskly to break them down further — this is where the body comes from.
- 03
Add the provisions
Stir in the pumpkin, cassava, carrots, coconut milk, thyme, and a generous pinch of salt. Simmer 10 minutes while you make the dumplings.
- 04
Make the dumplings
Mix the flour and salt, then work in just enough water to form a firm dough. Knead 2 minutes until smooth and rest 10 minutes under a damp cloth — the rest is what keeps them tender.
- 05
Corn and spinners
Add the corn rounds to the pot. Roll the dough into thin ropes, pinch off short pieces, and roll each between your palms into spinners; drop them in and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until the dumplings are cooked through and the pumpkin is collapsing into the broth.
- 06
Bring in the heat
In the last 10 minutes, stir in 1 tablespoon of Sunny Island Pepper Sauce so the Scotch bonnet blooms into the broth but keeps its brightness. Taste and adjust with salt and black pepper — the soup should be thick enough to coat the corn.
The sauce moment
- 07
Serve it street-style
Ladle into deep cups or bowls, making sure everyone gets corn and dumplings. Scatter chadon beni over the top and put the bottle on the table for each person to finish their own.
From the family
The body should come from the peas and pumpkin, not added flour — if the soup feels thin, crush some pumpkin against the side of the pot and give it five more minutes at a simmer.
This one needs the jar.
1 tbsp stirred into the pot in the last 10 minutes of simmering · At the table, over each bowl