Ital soup

(excerpt from the Rasta Cookbook)

A substantial soup that will satisfy the largest of appetites; a true “Ital” feast which requires only fresh fruit juice to complete the meal.

Ingredients:

1 lb (450 g) yam

½ (225 g) sweet potato

1 lb (450 g) pumpkin

1 lb (450 g) callaloo

½ small cabbage

½ lb (225 g) carrots

1 cho cho

1 green pepper

2 cloves garlic

2 medium-sized tomatoes

3 spring onions

2 pts (1100 ml) water

First prepare the vegetables. Peel the yam, sweet potato and pumpkin and cut into large die, removing the seeds from the pumpkin. Carefully wash the callaloo, trimming away any thick stems and chop. Coarsely chop the cabbage having carefully discarded the outer leaves, peel and slice the carrots.

Peel the cho cho, cut it length ways into quarters and remove the heart. Roughly dice the cho cho and green pepper, peel and chop the tomatoes and slice the spring onions. Place the pumpkin and root vegetables in a large saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil and simmer for ten minutes.

Add to the pan the callaloo, cabbage, cho cho, pepper and finally the chopped tomatoes and spring onions. Season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and simmer for twenty minutes more until cooked.

Serves 4-6