Equipment
Ingredients
Soup Base
- 800 g bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed, excess fat trimmed
- 2000 ml water
Aromatics & Seasoning
- 4 scallions, smashed
- 4 garlic, smashed
- 6 fresh thyme, whole sprigs
- 2 g pimento seeds, whole
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole and absolutely unbroken
- 12 g kosher salt
Vegetables
- 300 g yellow yam, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 300 g pumpkin, peeled and diced
- 150 g carrots, peeled and sliced into thick rounds
- 200 g chocho, peeled, cored, and diced
- 2 corn on the cob, cut into thick rounds
Spinner Dumplings
- 150 g all-purpose flour
- 60 ml water, room temperature
- 2 g kosher salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 526 kcal
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbohydrates
- 52 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fiber
- 6 g
- Sugar
- 7 g
- Sodium
- 1055 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 6 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 10 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 5 g
- Cholesterol
- 131 mg
- Potassium
- 1184 mg
- Calcium
- 70 mg
- Iron
- 2.7 mg
- Magnesium
- 79 mg
- Phosphorus
- 354 mg
- Zinc
- 2.8 mg
- Vitamin A
- 468 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 28 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.3 mg
- Vitamin K
- 30 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.8 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.8 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.32 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.34 mg
- Niacin
- 8.4 mg
- Folate
- 94 mcg
- Water
- 619 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place the raw bone-in chicken thighs, water, smashed garlic, smashed scallions, pimento seeds, and fresh thyme in a large soup pot. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water after handling raw poultry. Bring the liquid to a steady boil (100C/212F), then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes to develop the broth.
While the broth simmers, prepare the dumpling dough. In a mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and salt. Mix thoroughly.
Gradually pour the water into the flour mixture, using your hands to bring the dough together. Knead for a few minutes until it forms a smooth, firm, and slightly elastic dough. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rest.
Add the prepared yellow yam, pumpkin, carrots, chocho, and corn rounds to the gently simmering chicken broth. Stir to ensure the vegetables are submerged.
Pinch off small, cherry-sized pieces of the rested dough. Roll each piece vigorously between the palms of your hands to form long, tapered, cigar-shaped dumplings known as spinners. Drop them directly into the simmering soup.
Gently place the whole, absolutely unbroken Scotch bonnet pepper on top of the soup. Continue to simmer everything together without boiling vigorously to avoid bursting the pepper. Cook until the pumpkin begins to disintegrate and thicken the broth, the chicken is fully cooked (minimum internal temperature of 74C/165F), and the dumplings float to the surface.
Carefully locate the whole Scotch bonnet pepper and the bare thyme stems, then remove and discard them. Taste the soup and stir in the kosher salt. Ladle the hot, rich broth along with the chicken, vegetables, and spinners into wide bowls.
Chef's Notes
- Using bone-in chicken is non-negotiable for an authentic mouthfeel. The collagen from the bones breaks down into gelatin, giving the soup a luxurious, lip-smacking body that boneless cuts simply cannot provide.
- The pumpkin used in Jamaican cuisine is traditionally calabaza squash. Its primary role is not just as a vegetable, but as a thickening agent. It should partially melt into the broth, lending both a velvety texture and a beautiful golden color.
- The Scotch bonnet pepper is used here for its distinctively fruity, floral aroma rather than direct heat. By floating it whole and unbroken, the volatile aromatic compounds infuse the soup without releasing the fiery capsaicin from the interior seeds and ribs.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Flavor deepens overnight. The dumplings will absorb more broth as they sit.
Freezer: 2 months — Best to remove the dumplings and corn on the cob before freezing, as their textures degrade when thawed.
Reheating: Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium heat until reaching an internal temperature of 74C/165F.
Troubleshooting
The soup is overwhelmingly spicy and completely burns the palate.
Cause: The Scotch bonnet pepper burst or was accidentally cut during cooking, releasing its potent capsaicin oils directly into the liquid.
Fix: Remove the broken pepper immediately. Stirring in a small amount of sugar or serving with a side of plain bread can help distract from the heat, but extreme spice cannot be fully removed.
Prevention: Inspect the pepper for micro-tears before adding it. Avoid rigorous boiling and do not stir aggressively once the pepper is in the pot.
The spinners are tough, dense, or hard in the center.
Cause: The dough was overworked, lacked sufficient hydration, or was not given adequate time to rest and simmer.
Fix: Continue simmering the soup for another 10 to 15 minutes to soften the dumplings further.
Prevention: Knead only until just smooth, allow a brief rest so the gluten relaxes, and ensure they simmer for at least 20 minutes.
Cultural Context
In Jamaica, a massive pot of hearty soup is traditionally prepared on Saturdays, universally known as Saturday Soup. It serves as a resourceful, restorative one-pot meal meant to feed extended families, clear out the pantry at the end of the week, and utilize the fresh, heavy ground provisions brought home from the weekend agricultural markets.
