Jamaican Red Peas Soup with Pumpkin & Carrots

Ingredients

• 1½ cups dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight
• 2 cups Pumpkin, cubed
• 1½ cups Carrots, sliced
• 8 oz salted beef or smoked turkey (optional)
• 1 can (13 oz) coconut milk
• 8 cups water
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 whole scotch bonnet
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup water, for the dumplings
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Simmer the drained beans in the water with the meat, if using, for 45 minutes until they are soft enough to crush between two fingers.
2. Mash about a cup of the beans against the side of the pot and stir them back in. That is your thickener — the soup should go from watery to velvety.
3. Add the Pumpkin, Carrots, onion, garlic, scallions, thyme, coconut milk, and the whole scotch bonnet. Simmer 20 minutes.
4. Make spinners: rub the flour and water into a stiff dough, pinch off marble-size pieces, and roll each between your palms into a little 2-inch torpedo. Drop them in and cook 12 minutes until they float and cook through.
5. Remove the pepper before it splits, season with salt and plenty of black pepper, and serve very hot in deep bowls.