| 1 | Salt grated rind and juice from one lemon |
| 2 | put the drained beans and hock in a very large pan, cover with the cold water and bring gradually to a boil. |
| 3 | Leave to simmer while you prepare the other ingredients. |
| 4 | in a frying pan heat the olive oil, then gently fry the onion, garlic and chili with the allspice and lemon rind, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent. |
| 5 | Add this mixture to the beans and go on simmering for 2 hours, by which time the beans should be tender. |
| 6 | At this point add the sugar, lemon juice, and tomato puree. |
| 7 | Cook for another 30 minutes. |
| 8 | Add salt if necessary. |
| 9 | remove the hock, and pick off any meat. |
| 10 | If you would like a smooth soup, as mine (the author) was, process the mixture in batches and return with the meat to the pan. |
| 11 | Otherwise, for a rougher texture crush with a potato masher. |
| 12 | If the mixture seems too thick at this stage, add more water and bring back to the boil for a minute or two. |
| 13 | ladle the soup into bowls, with a spoonful or two of cream stirred in, and serve with a crusty bread. |
| 14 | if you are feeling lavish, a couple of spoons of dark rum added towards the end give a bajan fillip. |
| 15 | info text: arriving stiff and crumpled inside and out after an eleven hour flight, this was my first taste of bajan cooking, and i ate it late at night trying to imagine the sea beyond a dark frieze of langourous palms. |
| 16 | Dense but smooth, with a snap of chili, the soup was both homely and exotic, and very restoring. |
| 17 | barbados produces splendid ham and bacon, and a ham stock is what makes this different from other carribean variants. |
| 18 | Or, as here, use a hock, soaked first to remove some salt. |
| 19 | from a book called food magic by jocasta innes. |
