Soupe z’habitants recipe: Are you exercising or dieting yet? Christmas is right around the corner. Here is a simple soup to give you all the proper vitamins you need while trying to recuperate from Thanksgiving. This recipe is called Soupe z’Habitants or Soup z’Habitant.

If you have some leftover ham from the holidays, this is a perfect soup for it. If not you can always omit the meat or buy salted pork or beef.

Soupe z’habitants

Long ago, due to poverty, many people were preparing soup with cultivated grasslands around their home. Because they could not afford meat, Soupe Z’habitant would be made with any available ingredients, hence green leaves and root vegetables. Throughout the year, Soupe Z’habitant changed, with meat addition, preferably salted meat and fancier vegetables. Although many of the recipes for Soupe Z’habitant blends all the ingredients to a veggie broth, this version is simple, and I would not combine all the ingredients and especially not the meat.

I could just eat this soup with my eyes just by looking at all the beautiful colors. We eat with our eyes first and why not cook the way we want to eat, the way we want our food to look. Tasty and pretty!

Enjoy Soupe Z’Habitant with all your favorite ingredients, salted pork, spinach, green beans, potatoes, carrots, leeks, squash, onions, celery, and fresh spices. Happy cooking!

Serves 4 - 6

Soupe z’habitants

Soupe z'habitant, prepared with simple everyday ingredients.

12 hr, 15 Prep Time

1 hr, 30 Cook Time

13 hr, 45 Total Time

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Ingredients

1 – 1 ½ pound salted pork or beef, sliced
1 cup spinach, chopped optional
4 ounces green beans, fresh and cleaned
4 medium potatoes cut in cubes
3 carrots, diced
2 leeks, white part only, cleaned and chopped finely
1 ½ cup cubed yellow squash (butternut squash or any type of yellow squash)
1 large onion, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme)
1 hot pepper (habanero or scotch bonnet), keep whole, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

In a large bowl, desalt the salted pork or beef for at least 12 hours in cold water and changing the water 2 to 3 times.
Cut the potatoes, carrots and squash in cubes and set aside. Cut off the knobby ends of the string beans and set aside. Clean the leeks and cut thinly and set aside. Slice the onion and the celery stalk and set aside.
In a large stockpot, heat oil, add sliced meat, and cook gently stirring. Add bouquet garni, onion and garlic. Add leeks and celery to combine. Add remaining ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste and add enough water to cover all ingredients. Cover and let cook on low heat for about 1 - 1h 30 minutes. Add the hot pepper if using during the last few minutes of cooking – make sure it does not break. Remove both hot pepper and bouquet garni and serve hot.

Notes

If pressed for time or if you forget to desalt the meat, boil the salted pork or beef in enough water until cooked. Remove from water and pan fry meat and add after the vegetables have been cooked.

You can use cooked/roasted ham or pork belly. Cooking time will be reduced if using cooked or roasted meat.

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