Sos pwa nwa, An Afro-Caribbean Black Bean Soup

served best with a bowl of diced vine tomatoes, green onions, fresh lemon juice, cold-pressed olive oil, and a sprinkle of sea salt.

The following recipe was inspired by a family friend, who shared her sos pwa nwa recipe with me during my travels.  However, major modifications were made to fulfill my own personal nutritional goal, which is to heal my metabolism and digestive system.

Prep time: 10-20 mins

Cooking time: 3 hours in a slow cooker/ 2 hours on a stove

Ingredients

1. Dried Black Beans (3-4 cups)
2. Coconut Milk (2-3 cups)
3. Dried Spices

• Sea Salt (1-2 tsp.) *optional
• Cinnamon (1 ½ tsp)
• Turmeric (1 ½ tsp)
• Indian Curry (1 tsp)
• Nutmeg (1 tsp)
• Paprika (1 tsp)
• Allspice (1 tsp)
• Cayenne Pepper (1 tsp) *optional
• Nutritional Yeast 1-2 TBS
• Cloves (3-4)

4. Fresh Herbs

• Garlic (4-6 cloves)
• Green Onion (2-3 stems)
• Ginger (a thumb size piece)

My name is Melissa, and I am a full-time nomad and youth educator. Which means, I travel for a living, and spend most of my time planning, hiking, teaching, and driving.  With that being said, cooking nourishing meals has been one of the most important habits I’ve had to commit to since I began my travels. Soups, salads, wraps, are the main types of meals I generally consume, since they are pretty easy, and quick to make. However, sos pwa nwa, a Haitian influence black bean soup, carries more intention, and history, and I absolutely enjoy taking my time making this meal.

During my travels, I went to visit an old family friend, who is from the island of Haiti. During my visit, I had the honor to witness her make this black bean delicacy with so much love. Many of the ingredients she used did consist of what I have listed above, but her recipe included more fresh herbs, such as celery, parsley, cloves, and habaneros peppers. She also used palm oil, and chicken broth. Of course, with the addition of these herbs, and ingredients you will have a different blend of flavors, but nonetheless still a delicious meal. Using this as a source of inspiration I created my own black bean soup using some of the spices in her recipe, but also included spices that would assist with my own nutritional goal.

In 2019 I discovered that I had celiac disease, a disease that can certainly inhibit your quality of life if your dietary decisions consist of gluten and other substances that can irritate your digestive tract if compromised. Because this disease went undiagnosed for so long, the list of food sensitivities included more than just gluten for me. In fact, I was unable to consume dairy, eggs, certain fatty oils, like canola oil, coffee, rice, and meat proteins. My digestive system was in deep trouble so I had to make a drastic dietary change in order to adequately digest my food, and enhance nutrient absorption.

The combination of spices I made for this recipe was designed to assist my digestive system with breaking down food, which included restoring good bacteria and assisting the digestive enzymes. Which led me to more alkaline forming foods such as ginger, green onions, and garlic. The choices of spices I used in this recipe were actually influenced by Indian cuisines. Pairing curry and cinnamon is a common combination I use in my soups because it gives them an equal balance of sweet, and spicy flavors, not to mention the fact that this marriage gives my taste buds the ultimate dancehall party.

According to nutritional health experts (Staying Healthy with Nutrition, rev: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine, 2006), having a combination of the 5 flavors, sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and savory, in your meals can act on its own, but have a more powerful interaction when applied together. The activation of any one taste will enhance another taste, stimulating the hunger hormone, ghrelin, assisting the body reach a satiety level.

In addition, according to my family cultural beliefs and traditions, adding spices such as allspice, turmeric, and cinnamon aides in healing our metaphysical bodies as well. For example, my grandparents, who struggle with diabetes, have been chewing cinnamon sticks for quite some time to help lower their sugar levels, and clear any bacterial growth from forming in the oral cavity. However, this wasn’t always their reasons chewing on these yummy cinnamon sticks. In fact, it is believed that cinnamon can attract prosperity and good health, as well as provide protection in the home and during long travels. Among the Mayan Indigenous tribes, cinnamon sticks were chewed, burned, and used as night time remedies for this reason. Making the connection between nutrition, and indigenous spiritual practices has helped me value the nutritional benefits of each spice and food with a lot more intention. In fact, taking into account my spiritual practices into my nutritional decisions has helped me make more wholesome meals.

Below I have written out the directions on how to prepare Sos pwa nwa. Many of the techniques I use, such as soaking your beans near an open window with lots of sunlight, have been passed down to me from my maternal lineage.

Cooking and Preparation:

Step 1 – Soak beans overnight. Soaking your beans overnight helps with digestion, as well also reducing the amount of direct high heat exposed to them during the cooking process. This will help reserve their nutrient components as much as possible.

Step 2 – Preparing the beans. Using about half of your garlic portion, (so about 2/3 depending how much you are using overall) and set aside the other half of your whole garlic cloves. You will add your whole garlic cloves to the boiling water once your beans have been boiling for 20-30 minutes. The other half will be minced later.  For now, boil your beans in enough water. They should boil in at least 4-6 cups of water, leaving enough room to give it extra moisture. Boil for about 2 hours if using a stove top. Remember, there should be plenty of water for your beans to boil well in.

Step 3- Blending your beans. Once your beans have reached a soft texture, you will pour half of your mix into a cooling bowl to cool down. This serving bowl will be blended into a food processor/ blender. This process is what will give your soup an equal balance of cream and whole beans. When blending the beans, only blend/ process for 3-6 seconds each serving.

Step 4 – Add your dried spices first. Once you have blended your beans, pour them back in to the pot, and stir well. Begin adding your dry spices, observing their reaction when they hit your broth. Your beans should already have nice tender texture. You may see some of the skin peeling off the beans, this is as a good indicator that your beans are indeed soft. Do not add the salt until after all of your spices have been blended in, well. Monitoring salt intake is really important for calcium absorption. Therefore, tasting your soup once the spices have been marinated well into your broth can give you a more accurate indication of how much salt you need to add for flavor enhancement. Once you have added your spices. Let it sit under the heat for another 20 minutes. Make sure you cover your pot with a cover.

Step 5 – Adding your fresh herbs, milk, and nutritional yeast. Cut your ginger into small cubes, this will help them blend into your broth quicker, and easier. You may also add the minced garlic at this point, which again, mincing the garlic not only activates the flavor components, but also enhances the flavoring in your broth even more. Add your nutritional yeast, and milk, and stir for 2- 3 minutes. You should see your broth become creamier. If you would like to reduce the thickness, simply add another cup of water.

Step 6– Garnish. I like to save my green onions as the very last ingredient for my soups. I try to minimize the amount of heat that is exposed to my green herbs, so that I am able to preserve its nutritional components as much as possible. Therefore, I recommend mincing your green onions, and adding them to your soup after you have turned off the burner. Allowing the steam of your soup to heat the green onions naturally, and this will actually help absorb the flavors.

Final thoughts:

One of the many ways I honor my indigenous native roots is by making soups and stews around the full and new moon phases. Not only am I paying my respects, but I feel there is a lot more intention activated in my meals because of the lunar energies. I share this personal perspective as general insight, as well as encouragement to include your own spiritual practices into meal prepping. Peace, and enjoy.