Bouyon is Dominica's Saturday soup, a thick communal one-pot of ground provisions, dumplings and meat or fish, perfumed with the island's mountain herbs. It is food for gathering — the pot that feeds the whole house.
Spoon up Dominica bouyon — a thick, herbal broth packed with tender dasheen, plantain, pumpkin, chewy dumplings, silky callaloo, and savory salt meat. Bite: deeply savory and aromatic, the provisions starchy and filling, a coconut richness, a warm background of scotch bonnet. The Nature Isle's Saturday soup, a whole meal in one bowl.
Long simmering of salt meat builds a deep, seasoned broth; the starchy provisions and dumplings release starch to thicken it into a near-stew. Callaloo and coconut enrich it; a whole un-burst scotch bonnet adds aroma without overwhelming heat.
Variations
With fish instead of meat. With pig tail. With more dumplings. With ground provisions only (meatless). Spicier. With corn.
On the Palate
Where Dominica Bouyon sits in the Dominica flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
8 steps · 40 min active + 1 hour 20 min waiting
- 110 min
Brown 400 g salt beef or salt cod pieces in a large pot.
- 232 min
Add water, thyme, garlic, chive, and a whole scotch bonnet; simmer 30 min.
Watch outAfter the first simmer the broth should smell of thyme and garlic and taste properly seasoned before the provisions go in.
- 36 min
Add 300 g dasheen (taro), 2 green plantains, and 300 g pumpkin in chunks.
- 48 min
Make small flour dumplings and drop them in.
- 54 min
Add a bundle of chopped callaloo and a splash of coconut milk.
- 632 min
Simmer 30 min until the provisions are tender and the broth thickens.
Watch outThe soup is ready when the taro and plantain are fork-tender and the broth has thickened to a near-stew from their starch.
- 72 min
Season with black pepper; remove the whole pepper.
- 82 min
Serve in big bowls as a meal in itself.
