AROMATIC PORK AND APPLE MEATBALL SOUP
- Serves: 4-6
- Cooking Method: Slow Cook
- Difficulty: moderate
DAY ONE – STOCK
6 chicken drumsticks
2 chicken frames or carcass
800gm meaty Pork Spare Ribs
1 lime, cut into four pieces, juice squeezed into the stock, and add the residual lime
5cm fresh ginger, just opened, skin on
6 Kaffir lime leaves
2 large fresh garlic cloves
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced
1/2 Red Delicious apple, cored and sliced
1/2 cup coriander stalks, reserve the leaves for later
1 x whole red chilli, split down the middle and seeds removed (optional for heat)
1 x carrot, chopped
1 x parsnip, chopped
1 generous end clump of celery
500mls chicken stock
500mls beef stock
Water to top up stock
Oil and butter for searing chicken nibbles
DAY TWO – SOUP
1-2 packs Pork Sausages
1 packet egg noodles, cooked to packet instructions
1 broccoli, finely sliced
Coriander leaves, chopped
A dash of sherry (optional)
1 carrot, julienned
1 spring onion, julienned
2 small sweet peppers, julienned
Meat retrieved from your stock brew
DAY ONE – PREPARE
Sear off the chicken nibbles and pork ribs in a little butter and oil until they brown up. Add the chicken frames and sear for 10 minutes.
Add the ginger, garlic, Kaffir lime leaves, vegetables and apple slices. Add lime juice and skins, chicken stock, then beef stock. Top up with equal quantities of water. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put the lid on the pot and after ten minutes turn the heat down to simmer. Simmer until the meat of the Pork Ribs is falling off the bones. This will take around 30 minutes.
Take the pot off the heat and leave to cool completely.
Drain the remaining stock and vegetables through a large sieve into another large pot. Extract the larger pieces of chicken and the pork meat from the ribs. Refrigerate separately. Use a potato masher to extract every bit of goodness from the vegetable slurry.
Allow the stock to cool and then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. The next day you can remove any excess fat that has settled on the surface of the stock if you wish.
DAY TWO – SERVE
Remove the skins from the sausages and roughly chop into meatballs, allowing approximately 1 ½ pork sausages per person. Set aside.
Extract twice the required quantity of stock for the number you are feeding. Freeze the rest for another day.
Reheat the stock on a brisk boil to reduce the quantity by half. Now add loads of fresh chopped coriander leaf, finely sliced vegetables and, if you wish, finely diced red chilli.
Simmer until the vegetables are almost tender – about ten minutes. Now add your little meatballs. Allow the pork balls to poach. Taste and season. If it needs a little zing, add a small dash of sherry.
Add your noodles. Then add the shredded chicken and pork meat. Just a small handful per person. It is important not to add the meat too early or it will go to mush. Leave the meat quite naturally chunky, as it is if you gently extract it from the chicken carcass. Simmer until the meat is hot and the noodles are cooked.
Serve with crusty bread.
