Simmered pork soup

Using pork as an ingredient in soup is not so common these days – and that’s a pity. Its connective tissue-rich cuts provide a great flavour. This recipe is inspired by an old household book from 1848, when you could make meat stretch further by using it for soup and by adding herbs and lots of vegetables. The original recipe is below this one:-

Ingredients for 10:

1 hind knuckle and 1 fore knuckle of pork, approx. 2 kg in total
1 tbsp salt
40 white peppercorns
5 cm fresh ginger, 60g
4 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bunch parsley
1 small white cabbage, 500 g
4 medium parsley roots, 400 g
6 medium carrots, 450 g
2 small leeks, 300 g
100 g Ingrid peas, dried
150 g baguette per person, preferably wholegrain 

Preparation time: 4 hours

Method:

1. Put the meat in a large saucepan. Add water to cover, approx. 3 litres
2. Bring the water to the boil and skim
3. Add salt, pepper, ginger and bouquet garni (made from half bunch of parsley, thyme and bay leaves)
4. Wash and peel the parsley roots, carrots, and cut the ends off the leeks and add them to the soup. Place the vegetables in water.
5. Simmer the soup under a low heat for 3 hours.
6. Cook the Ingrid peas according to instructions (may involve soaking the day before)
7. Remove the meat and the bouquet garni and reduce the soup to approx. half.
8. Skim away the fat.
9. Remove the outer leaves from the white cabbage and cut into small pieces.
10. Cut the parsley roots and carrots into mouth-sized pieces and the leeks into slices.
11. Boil the white cabbage, parsley and carrots in the soup for 15 minutes.
12. Remove the meat from the bones and separate the fat and skin so that the meat falls away and is very tender.
13. Add the leeks and the cooked peas and boil for 5 minutes.
14. Rinse and chop the parsley.
15. Season the soup with salt and pepper
16. Serve the soup with a little meat in each dish. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with bread.

 
Original recipe: soup made from pork backbone

Ingredients: pork backbone, salt, pepper, ginger, bouquet garni, cabbage, carrots, parsley root and parsley. 

Method: Chop 4 lbs (1 lb = approx. 500 grams) pork back into pieces, rinse well and place in a pot. Add water to cover the meat and add salt, white pepper, ginger, and a bouquet garni. Bring to the boil, skim and allow to simmer until tender. Remove the meat from the pot along with the bouquet garni. Add 3 heads of white cabbage, each cut into 4-6 pieces, 4 sliced carrots and 3 sliced parsley roots.  When the vegetables are tender, add chopped parsley for garnish. Serve the soup in a tureen containing the pork back.

Source: C. Steen; The housewife or guidance for young housewives who want to attend to their own households. Copenhagen 1848

2+ hours

ENERGY DISBRIBUTION

Nutritional content per person (approx. 720g portion):
Energy: 3099 kJ (738 kcal)
Protein: 55 g
Carbohydrate: 89 g
Fibre: 14 g
Fat: 15 g

Nutritional content per 100 g:
Energy: 433 kJ (103 kcal)
Protein: 8 g
Carbohydrate: 12 g
Fibre: 2 g
Fat: 2 g