Chicken Soup with Quick Spinners
The Healing Pot
Pinch the dough, roll flour and water between the palms, and drop the spinners into a heavy stockpot simmering with fresh thyme sprigs. In Jamaica, this is Saturday Soup—the working-class workhorse that stretches the week's leftover ground provisions into a communal feast. The secret isn't hours of toiling over a delicate stock. It is mashing the softened squash directly into the broth, boiling a whole Scotch bonnet pepper for fragrance, and tearing open a packet of Grace Cock Flavored Soup Mix. Keep the heat low, wait for the dumplings to float, and ladle it steaming.
Before you start
Wash the chicken.
Traditional Jamaican cooking demands washing poultry. Rinse the chicken thighs in cold water and the white vinegar, then rinse clean again with cold water before they ever see the pot.
Ingredients
- bone-in skinless chicken thighs1 1/2 lb
- white vinegar2 tbsp
- water10 cup
- butternut squash1 lb
- yellow yam or sweet potato1 med
- chayote1 med
- carrots2 med
- russet potato1 large
- fresh corn on the cob1 large
- scallions4 med
- fresh thyme8 sprig
- whole allspice berries8 med
- garlic3 small clove
- Scotch bonnet pepper1 med
- Grace Cock Flavored Soup Mix packet1 small
- all-purpose flour1 cup
- salt1/4 tsp
- cold water1/3 cup
Method
- 01
Start the foundation of the broth.
Place the washed chicken in a large, heavy-bottomed pot with the 10 cups of water, garlic, allspice berries, and the cubed squash, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 20 minutes.
- 02
Perform the grandmother's pumpkin trick.
Scoop out about half of the softened squash chunks, mash them completely smooth with a fork, and return them to the boiling pot to give the soup its signature rich, golden body.
- 03
Drop in the ground provisions.
Add the yellow yam, chayote, carrots, potato, and corn rounds, allowing the pot to return to a rolling simmer as the starchy vegetables begin their slow surrender.
- 04
Roll the spinners.
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, slowly adding the cold water while kneading lightly until you have a firm, non-sticky dough, then pinch off tablespoon-sized pieces and roll them rapidly back and forth between your palms to form long, tapered dumplings.
- 05
Build the final flavor profile.
Drop the spinners into the bubbling soup, add the smashed scallions, thyme sprigs, and the whole Scotch bonnet pepper, then carefully whisk in the soup mix.
- 06
Simmer and serve.
Cover and simmer on medium-low for 15 to 20 minutes until the spinners puff up slightly and float, then carefully fish out and discard the whole pepper and bare thyme stems before ladling heavily into deep bowls.
Notes
The Authentic Shortcut.
Don't let modern culinary purism rob you of the real flavor; the Grace Cock Soup Mix packet provides the ultra-fine noodles, turmeric hue, and umami-driven nostalgia that makes this soup taste exactly like home.
The Scotch Bonnet Rule.
Boiling the pepper whole extracts the incredibly fragrant, fruity oils of the Caribbean without the blinding capsaicin heat, but if you puncture it, the heat will be unrelenting.
Ground Provisions Reality Check.
If you can't find yellow yam at a local international market, a standard sweet potato or extra russet potato will alter the starch profile slightly but still yield a phenomenally comforting bowl.
From Cook Jamaican in America.