Happy New Year! There are a bunch of traditional dishes around the world to help usher in a new year. In past years, I’ve shared a Black Eyed Peas Hash, Black Eyed Peas with Collard Greens, and a bunch of recipe for what to do with the leftover champagne (assuming you have any), like this Champagne Risotto Primavera and these Honey Citrus Champagne Cupcakes.
Some traditional dishes eaten on New Year’s Day have less to do with the new year and more to do with a country’s history. So this year, I’m sharing my adaptation of an Independence Stew from Haiti. Celebrated every January 1, Haiti proclaimed independence from French colonials on New Year’s Day 1804 following a 13 year revolution. Soup Joumou, a comforting stew traditionally made with beef, pumpkin, pasta, and a bunch of veggies and spices, has become a New Year’s Day dish to commemorate Haiti’s independence.
I adapted this recipe from Epicurious, scaling it down quite a bit and swapping butternut squash for the pumpkin because I couldn’t find any pumpkin that wasn’t already pureed.
Ingredients:
Marinade:
- 1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 bell pepper (any color), coarsely chopped
- 1 scallion, coarsely chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup parsley leaves
- 1 basil leaf
- the juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Remaining Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, divided
- 1 pound stew beef cubes
- 7 cups chicken or beef broth, divided
- 2 beef bones
- 1 pound butternut squash, cut into cubes
- 2 medium russet potatoes (about 1 pound), finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 1/4 small green cabbage (about 1/2 pound), very thinly sliced
- 1/2 small onion, sliced
- 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
- 1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, finely chopped
- 1 small turnip, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon habanero chile hot sauce, or to taste
- 1 cup uncooked rigatoni
- 3 whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 parsley sprig (optional)
- 1 thyme sprig (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (omit to make dairy free)
