Haitian Legumes Recipe

What is Haitian Legume made of?

Haitian legume is a hearty, savory, vegetable stew often made with the addition of beef and/or seafood. The vegetables that often make up this dish are eggplant, watercress, chayote, cabbage, spinach, carrot, and lima beans can be added as well. This delicious vegetable stew can be consumed as a vegetarian or vegan dish as well when beef and seafood are omitted.

Haitian Legume with Beef and Crab Ingredients

-Eggplant

-Watercress

-Spinach

-Cabbage

-Chayote

-Carrot

-Lima Beans

-Sour Orange

-Tomato Paste

-Ragú traditional pasta sauce (optional)

-Beef Chuck (Neckbones)

-Blue Crab, Rock Crab, or Dungeness Crab

-Epis (Green Seasoning) Recipe here: https://thatnursecooks.com/2022/12/01/haitian-epis-caribbean-green-seasoning/

What can you eat Haitian Legume with?

Haitian legume is often consumed with white rice and sauce pwa (bean sauce) or it can be eaten with rice and beans (diri cole). It’s all a matter of preference!

How do you make Haitian Legume?

This dish has two steps so you’ll need two pots. The first part of making this dish is cooking the beef and the crab. The second part of making this dish is steaming and mashing the vegetables. Once those two steps are complete, the beef and crab is added to the mashed vegetables. Equipment needed: 2 large stock or dutch pots, a large potato masher or pilón to mash the vegetables

Ingredients

This recipe is for a large pot of legume that will feed 5-6 adults

-3 lb beef neckbones (fat trimmed)

-1 lb rock crab (you can omit the crab if a shellfish allergy. You can use the crab of your choice as well. Blue crab, dungeness, etc.)

-2-3 large spoonfuls of green seasoning

-1 tbsp All Purpose seasoning

-1 tsp Onion Powder

-1 tsp Garlic Powder

-1 tsp Maggi Chicken bouillon seasoning or 1 chicken bouillon cube

-1/4 cup of vegetable oil

-1/2 cup of Ragú Traditional Pasta Sauce

-1 cup or 3 large spoonfuls of tomato paste (save extra or any leftover tomato paste to finish off the legume)

-2 large eggplants

-2 Chayote

-1/2 head of cabbage (sliced)

-1 lb Chopped Spinach

-1 lb or a bushel of Watercress

-3 large Carrots

-1 cup of Lima Beans

Directions

All vegetables should be peeled and chopped. Eggplant must be peeled and chopped into large slices, carrots must be peeled and chopped into large coins. Chayote must be peeled and cut into slices that resemble apple slices. The cabbage should be chopped large as well. You can peel and chop your vegetables prior to beginning this process, or you can peel and chop your vegetables while the beef is cooking.

The first part of cooking this dish will be to cook the beef and crab. Rinse your beef and crab with fresh lime or vinegar and pat dry. Add your green seasoning, all purpose seasoning, Maggi seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder. Next, squeeze the juice of 2 sour oranges onto the beef and crab and massage the seasoning into the beef and crab.

Heat a large pot for 3 minutes on a medium flame. Add the oil and heat for 3 minutes. Next add your 3 spoonfuls of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of Ragú pasta sauce. Add only the beef to the pot. Stir so that all pieces of the beef are evenly distributed with tomato paste and pasta sauce. Leave the crab on the side. The crab cooks quickly so it will be added much later on. Cover the pot and cook the beef for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Occasionally stir to ensure all pieces of the beef are adequately cooked.

30 minutes into cooking your beef, grab another pot. Add the eggplant, chayote, carrots, watercress, spinach, and lima beans. Add 1 cup of water. The vegetables should fill the entire pot to the brim. As it steams, they will shrink and make room for the beef and crab. Steam the vegetables for approximately 45 minutes on a low/medium flame. Once the vegetables are soft, using a potato masher or pilón, mash the vegetables. Take care not to mash the carrots too much. Lower the flame and and return to the pot that contains the beef. Add the crab to the pot, stir, and steam for 10 minutes.

Once the beef and crab are done, add them to the pot that contains the mashed vegetables. Stir. At this point, add 2 large spoonfuls of tomato paste, 1 tsp of all purpose seasoning, 1 1/2 tsp of Maggi chicken seasoning or half of a chicken bouillon cube. We are seasoning to taste at this stage so you can add as much or as little seasoning as you like. Steam for another 15 minutes and enjoy! Serve with white rice and sauce pwa for best results!