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A blue bowl filled with Caribbean cow heel soup on a white counter top with some chives and a sweet potato in the background.
Renee Robley

Caribbean Cow Heel Soup

5 from 1 vote
Cow heel soup is the traditional Caribbean soup. Full of ground provisions and a split peas base with cow heel (cow foot). This is a hearty, flavor-filled soup.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Caribbean
Calories: 426
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

For the soup
  • 1 1/2 pounds cow heel
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon green seasoning
  • 1 cup yellow split peas soaked overnight and drained
  • 1 cup cubed pumpkin
  • 1/2 medium onion chopped
  • 1/2 pound salted pigtail cut up (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 medium sweet potato cubed
  • 1 carrot chopped
  • 1 full-length corn on the cob chopped
  • 1 Scotch bonnet pepper whole or to taste
  • 3 cups water plus additional water as needed
  • 1/4 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup chopped chive
  • Salt to taste
For the dumplings
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method
 

Stovetop instructions
  1. The night before making the soup, cover the split peas with water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse before using.
  2. Rinse the cow heel, then soak it in water with the vinegar for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse again.
  3. Add the cow heel and 3 cups of water to a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil.
  4. Add the onion, garlic, green seasoning, and a little salt. Continue cooking until the cow heel is tender, adding additional water as needed.
  5. Add the drained split peas and cook for about 20 minutes, until they begin to soften and break down.
  6. Add the pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, corn, Scotch bonnet pepper, celery, chive, and salted pigtail if using.
  7. Combine the flour, water, and salt to make a soft dumpling dough. Pinch off pieces and shape into small balls or spinners.
  8. Add the dumplings to the pot along with about 1 cup of additional water, or enough for the liquid to come up around the ingredients.
  9. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the provisions are tender and the dumplings are cooked through. Add more water as needed if the soup becomes too thick.
  10. Add the black pepper, taste, and adjust the salt as needed. Serve hot.
Manual Pressure Cooker
  1. Add the cow heel, water, onion, garlic, green seasoning, and a little salt to the pressure cooker.
  2. Cook according to your pressure cooker's instructions until the cow heel is tender.
  3. Carefully release the pressure, then transfer the cow heel and cooking liquid to a heavy-bottomed pot.
  4. Continue with the stovetop instructions, beginning with the soaked split peas.

Nutrition

Calories: 426kcal

Notes

How to soften cow heel without a pressure cooker: If you plan, you can add the heel to your slow cooker and let it cook overnight on low. Add the meat and water to cover it, along with the ingredients that would have been used to boil it and a tablespoon of green seasoning, and let it sit overnight. Once it's tender, then continue on the stovetop

Recipe Printed From ThisBagoGirl.com

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