Trinidadian · soup

Crab and Callaloo (Dasheen Leaf Soup with Blue Crab)

Name: Crab and Callaloo (Dasheen Leaf Soup with Blue Crab)
Prep time: 1 h 12 min
Total time: 1 h 12 min
Cuisine: Trinidadian
Ingredients: young dasheen leaves — 500 g; crabs — 700 g; okra — 150 g; green seasoning — 60 g; onion — 150 g; garlic — 24 g; calabaza — 100 g; coconut milk — 368 g; water — 700 g; scotch bonnet chillies — 5 g; unsalted butter — 45 g; fresh culantro — 8 g; salt — 10 g; freshly ground black pepper — 5 g

Crab and Callaloo (Dasheen Leaf Soup with Blue Crab) reads umami 5.3, marine & briny 5.0 and richness 4.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Trinidadian soup, about 1 hr 12 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 6.2 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 3.8 / 10
Sour & Bright — 0.9 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.6 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.7 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.3 · Marine & Briny 5.0 · Richness 4.9 · Allium 4.4 · Salinity 4.0 · Sweetness 3.2 · Heat 2.9 · Nutty 2.8 · Herbaceous 2.8 · Fruity 2.0 · Floral 1.7 · Warm Spice 1.5 · Earthy 1.4 · Bitterness 1.0 · Sourness 0.7 · Citrus 0.7

What's in it (14)

young dasheen leaves — 500 g
crabs — 700 g
okra — 150 g
green seasoning — 60 g
onion — 150 g
garlic — 24 g
calabaza — 100 g
coconut milk — 368 g
water — 700 g
scotch bonnet chillies — 5 g
unsalted butter — 45 g
fresh culantro — 8 g
salt — 10 g
freshly ground black pepper — 5 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 12 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 54.4 kcal, 5 g protein, 4.5 g fat, 1.8 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Dasheen leaves are sold in bundles at Caribbean and West African groceries, often as taro or callaloo bush. They contain calcium oxalate crystals, which is why they must be cooked through — never taste them raw or undercooked, and if the finished soup scratches at the back of your throat it needs another ten minutes. Spinach is not a substitute; it has none of the mineral depth and none of the body.
Strip the thick central rib out of every leaf and roughly tear them, about 15 minutes of work. Discard the ribs.
Put the torn leaves in a heavy pot with the okra, green seasoning, onion, garlic, pumpkin, coconut milk and water, and drop the whole unbroken scotch bonnet on top. Combining everything cold in the pot is the traditional order — nothing is browned first.
Bring to a boil, then simmer covered over low heat for 35 minutes, until the leaves have collapsed completely and the okra has dissolved into the liquid.
Lay the crab pieces on top, cover again, and steam them in the soup for 15 minutes.
Lift out the crab and fish out the pepper, still whole. Take a swizzle stick — a Caribbean wooden whisk — or an immersion blender and work the soup for about 3 minutes until it is a smooth deep-green pool with no leaf shreds left. Return the crab.
Stir in the butter and the chadon beni over low heat for 2 minutes.
Season with the salt and black pepper. Serve as part of a Sunday lunch, over rice, with the crab to be picked apart by hand.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Gambas al Ajillo — Spanish
Rice-Pot Jambalaya — Cajun/Creole
Crawfish Bisque — Cajun/Creole
Shrimp and Okra Purloo — Southern · Lowcountry
Matapa — Mozambican

Keep reading: what umami, marine & briny, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.