A wholesome Rastafarian one-pot of root vegetables, pumpkin, cho cho and beans simmered in coconut milk with thyme and Scotch bonnet, cooked without meat or salt.
Central to the Rastafarian way of life, ital cuisine takes its name from "vital" and embraces natural, unprocessed, plant-based food drawn from the land. Ital stew gathers the island's roots and vegetables into a nourishing coconut-milk pot, eaten as an expression of living in harmony with nature.
Creamy, mellow and naturally sweet from pumpkin and coconut, with tender chunks of root vegetable in every spoon. A gentle thyme-and-pepper warmth ties the earthy flavors together.
Simmering starchy roots and pumpkin in coconut milk lets them release starch that naturally thickens the broth into a creamy stew, while the coconut fat carries the aromatics without any meat.
Variations
Bean ital stew, root vegetable ital stew, dumpling ital stew
On the Palate
Where Ital Stew sits in the Jamaican flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 115 min
Peel and chop pumpkin, sweet potato, yam, carrot and cho cho into chunks.
- 25 min
Bring coconut milk and a little water to a simmer in a large pot.
- 310 min
Add the firmer roots first and cook until they begin to soften.
Watch outAdd the firm roots first and give them a head start — they need longer than the pumpkin, which would collapse if it went in this early.
- 43 min
Add pumpkin, cho cho, garlic, scallion and thyme.
- 52 min
Stir in cooked red kidney beans or gungo peas.
- 615 min
Tuck in a whole Scotch bonnet and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the broth is creamy.
Watch outTuck the Scotch bonnet in whole and don't let it split — you want its perfume, not blistering heat flooding the pot.
- 72 min
Season only with pure sea salt and black pepper if desired, removing the Scotch bonnet.
Watch outIt's done when the roots are fork-tender and the coconut broth has turned silky and creamy from the released starch.
- 81 min
Serve hot, on its own or with rice or boiled dumplings.
