Jamaican Stew Peas with Spinners

The story

Jamaican Stew Peas with Spinners is a Jamaican main with a clear sense of place. Jamaican stew peas is a hearty red-bean stew often made with salted meat and coconut milk. The flour dumplings called spinners are rolled long and thin by hand. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 350 g dried kidney beanssoaked overnight
• 500 g salted beef or salted porksoaked to reduce salt
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 160 g onionchopped
• 80 g Spring onionschopped
• 12 g Garliccrushed
• 4 piece fresh thymesprigs
• 1 piece Scotch bonnet chilliwhole
• 0.5 tsp ground allspice
• 220 g plain flourfor spinners
• 110 ml waterfor spinners
• 0.5 tsp fine saltfor spinners

Method

1. Drain beans and soaked salted meat

   Drain beans and soaked salted meat. Cover both with fresh water in a large pot and simmer 60–75 minutes until the beans are nearly tender and the meat has softened.

   Look for: the beans are nearly tender and the meat has softened Tip: Keep spinners slim and add final salt only after the cured meat has simmered for a long time. Avoid: Failing to desalinate meat can ruin the stew, and adding salt early makes control difficult. Large spinners stay raw in the centre.

2. Add coconut milk, onion, spring onion, garlic,

   Add coconut milk, onion, spring onion, garlic, thyme, allspice and whole Scotch bonnet. Simmer another 20 minutes.

3. Mix flour, salt and enough water to

   Mix flour, salt and enough water to make a firm dough. Pinch off small pieces and roll between your palms into thin tapered spinners about 7 cm long.

4. Add the spinners one by one to

   Add the spinners one by one to the simmering stew so they do not stick together. Cook 15–18 minutes, stirring carefully from the bottom.

5. Remove Scotch bonnet

   Remove Scotch bonnet. Check the salt only now because the cured meat continues seasoning the broth. Simmer uncovered until the beans break down slightly and thicken the coconut gravy.

   Look for: the beans break down slightly and thicken the coconut gravy

6. Serve in deep bowls with rice if

   Serve in deep bowls with rice if desired, making sure each portion gets beans, meat and several spinners.

   Look for: Beans are creamy, meat tender and a cut spinner shows cooked dough with no floury core.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.