Haitian Oxtail Soup Joumou Recipe

Haitian Oxtail Soup Joumou Recipe

This Haitian Oxtail Soup recipe is a hearty variation of traditional Soup Joumou made with tender oxtail, kabocha pumpkin, cabbage, root vegetables and your favorite fixings in a deeply seasoned pumpkin broth.

Course Dinner, Main Dish, Soup

Cuisine Caribbean, Haitian

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 2 30

Marinating Time 1

Total Time 4 30

Servings Servings

Calories 598kcal

Author Savory Thoughts

Equipment

Large Saucepan

Ingredients

For The Oxtail Marinade

3½ lbs. sliced oxtail; cleaned and patted dry
1 scallion
1½ oz. fresh ginger
1 habanero pepper
18 garlic cloves
1 large onion; quartered
½ cup canola oil
½ cup water
3 Tbsp. Gonaïves seasoning blend; plus more as needed
Juice of 1 lemon

For The Soup

½ cup canola oil; for searing
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
About 3¼ lbs. kabocha pumpkin; seeded and cut into chunks
22 oz. cabbage; cut into large pieces
3 large carrots; sliced
16 oz. turnips; cut into chunks
4 baby bok choy; leaves separated
1 scallion; sliced
Fresh parsley sprigs
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 habanero pepper; halved, optional
8 oz. cheese-and-spinach tortellini
10½ cups water; divided, plus additional water as needed

Instructions

Marinate the oxtail:
Add the following to a high-speed blender:
1 scallion
Fresh ginger
1 habanero
18 garlic cloves
Quartered onion
½ cup canola oil
½ cup water
3 Tbsp. Gonaïves seasoning
Juice of 1 lemon
Blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture over the cleaned and dried oxtail and mix thoroughly. Marinate for at least 1 hour or refrigerate overnight for deeper flavor.
Sear the oxtail
Heat ½ cup oil in a large stockpot. Working in batches, sear approximately 4 pieces of oxtail at a time until beautifully browned on both sides.
Don't overcrowd the pot.
Oxtail releases liquid and putting too much meat into the pan at once can leave you steaming it instead of developing that beautiful brown exterior.
Transfer the seared oxtail to a plate and continue with the remaining meat.
And leave everything in that pot.
Those brown bits are coming with us.
Cook and blend the pumpkin
While the oxtail is browning, add the kabocha pumpkin chunks to a separate pot.
Cover with water and cook until fork-tender.
Drain.
Transfer the cooked pumpkin to a high-speed blender with 4 cups fresh water and blend until smooth.
Now we have the base of our Soup Joumou.
Build the soup
Add ½ cup oil. Then add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and cook briefly. Add the cabbage and stir well so it begins picking up the flavors in the pot.
Then add the marinating liquid, carrots, turnips, bok choy, remaining scallion and fresh parsley.
Pour in: Blended pumpkin, 6½ cups water, Worcestershire sauce, add the remaining habanero-cut in half, if you want the additional heat.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Return to the stockpot containing all those beautiful, browned bits from the oxtail if you removed them.
Return the oxtail
Add all the seared oxtail back to the pot along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. That's flavor.
We're not throwing that away either. Stir gently and partially cover the pot halfway.
Allow everything to simmer until the oxtail is tender, the vegetables are cooked, the soup has thickened and skim away any foam that collects on the surface.
Add the tortellini
Add the tortellini toward the end of cooking so the pasta doesn't become overly soft. Continue cooking until the tortellini is tender.
Taste the broth one final time and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Get the big bowl. Then serve it warm.
You did not spend the afternoon or evening making Soup Joumou to serve yourself three spoonfuls. 😂

Notes

Tips For Perfect Oxtail Soup

Marinate overnight when you can. One hour works but overnight gives that thick oxtail more time to absorb the seasoning.

Sear in small batches. Four pieces at a time prevents too much liquid from collecting in the pot.

Don't throw away those browned bits. The tomato paste and vegetables go directly into the same pot because we want that flavor incorporated into the soup.

Blend the pumpkin separately. This gives you control over the texture of your pumpkin base before it enters the soup.

Add pasta toward the end. Tortellini doesn't need hours of cooking. The last 10 minutes should suffice.

Taste before adding more seasoning. Gonaïves and Worcestershire both contribute seasoning, and the broth becomes more concentrated as it cooks.

Don't rush oxtail. The clock is secondary here. Tenderness tells you when oxtail is ready.

If you are press for time, I recommend you cook the oxtail in the marinating mixture the night before or a couple hours before making the soup. Although you will not get the browning, but you will end up with a tender oxtail, which will cut down the soup cooking time by at least 2 hours.

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