I purchased two large bunches of local callaloo (a West Indian green, also known as amaranth) last week to make the green’s namesake soup.
Most traditional callaloo recipes call for greens, okra, salt pork and crab meat. Some include beef, chicken, pumpkin or coconut. Whatever the ingredient list, the contents of callaloo are probably best when mysterious and hazy. The soup wasn’t designed to be made with a to-the-letter recipe.
That said, the recipe that follows is a delicious Anglo interpretation of callaloo, adapted from this recipe from Food & Wine.
Callaloo
3 cups cubed calabaza or other winter squash
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped chives or scallions
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 slices bacon
3/4 pound callaloo or spinach, stemmed and chopped
1/3 cup basil, sliced
2 tablespoons celery leaves
5 cups water
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°. Toss calabaza with 1 tablespoon canola oil, salt, and pepper. Spread calabaza onto a baking sheet, and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Remove calabaza from oven and keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat remaining canola oil and butter in a medium pot. Add onion, chives, and garlic, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion softens. Add strips of bacon, and render fat, cooking 5 to 8 minutes more (bacon will not be crisp).
Add greens, basil, and celery leaves to the pot, and cook until callaloo is wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour in water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer soup for 10 minutes.
Remove bacon strips, and discard (they have given their flavor to the soup and taste a whole lot like nothing). Puree soup in a blender or with an immersion blender. Add cream, and bring back to a low simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide soup into four bowls, and deposit 1/4 of the calabaza into the center of each bowl.
Serves 4