Trini Corn Soup

Who doesn't love soup especially corn soup.Usually this dish yes I said dish not appetizer is an absolute must have after fetes, parties or night club. Because if the amount of ingredients added to this soup it has to be classed as a dish. You can use salted pig tails in making this dish, but this time we’ll go strictly vegetarian. FYI – corn soup is one of those hearty meals on the go.

Ingredients

2-3 corn on the cob
2 tablespoon chopped shadow benni 
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon chopped chives
3 sprigs thyme
2 tablespoon parsley
1 cup of celery
1 cup yellow split peas
1 scotch bonnet pepper (any hot pepper you like)
3 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 tablespoon salt
1 large sweet potato cubed
4 medium potato (I used Yukon gold) cubed
1 lb pumpkin (about 1 1/2 cups) cubed
1 can coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 can creamed corn
1 large carrot diced


For the dumplings

3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
water 

Method

With the cobs of corn all you have to do is clean them, rinse under cool water and cut into 1 inch pieces. In a large pot, heat the oil on medium heat, then add the diced onions, garlic, celery, herbs and hot pepper. Let that saute for a couple minutes, then add the split peas and stir well. Now add everything else mentioned in the ingredients list above, except the pieces of corn and dumplings. Bring that up to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer for 70 minutes. The idea is to cook the split peas and allow everything else to cook-down and melt away into a lovely thick soup. Leave the pot slightly ajar and remember to keep stirring the pot.

 For the dumplings basically all you’re doing is making a dough from the ingredients listed above, then allow that to sit for about 10 minutes. Then pinch off small pieces of the dough and roll that into small cigars using both hands.

After the 70 minutes, go ahead and add the pieces of corn and dumplings. Allow that to come back up to a boil and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes. Remember to keep stirring the pot and if you notice that it’s overly thick, feel free to add more water of vegetable stock if you have.