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Rib-sticking smoked hock, bean + vegetable soup with fregola sarda

31/8/2016

26 Comments

 
Rib-sticking smoked hock, bean + vegetable soup with fregola sarda by Liz Posmyk, Good Things
Still on the subject of great produce from the NSW Southern Highlands, I'm sharing my recipe for this rib-sticker of a soup, created last week using a smoked pork hock from the good folks at Maugers Premium Quality Meats in Burrawang and Moss Vale.

To my surprise, the above (unstyled) photo, which was snapped just as I was above to serve our dinner, attracted a bevy of positive comments when I shared it on Instagram.  

'Perfect for a cold winter's night,' said one reader. 'We need this recipe,' pleaded a couple of loyal followers. 'I wish I had done the hard yards so I could be eating that soup for dinner tonight,' sighed another.  
Funnily enough, this was one of those shake-the-fridge-and-larder, made-from-scratch, thrown-together-quickly soups which, admittedly, was one of the best I've ever cooked.

Smoked hock is a favourite on my repertoire and when I spotted this fine specimen in the refrigerator at Maugers, the first thing that sprang to mind was that I had never seen a hock with the knuckle still attached. (Bearing in mind, I managed a fresh food market for a decade and there were four butcher shops on site).

'A value-added smoked pork hock, what a great find,' I thought to myself, as I reached in to grab it. I knew immediately that this piece of meat would be full of flavour.

Tins of chopped tomatoes, borlotti beans, red kidney beans, lentils and 'five bean mix' are among the canned ingredients which are always in my larder. I always have carrots and grape tomatoes in the house, along with smoked garlic and brown onions. And it goes without saying, there's parsley and other herbs in the garden. Plus, I had a bag of fregola sarda from Essential Ingredient. All of these being the makings of something delicious.

Given the size of the hock with knuckle, I needed to pull out 'the big guns', that is, my Morganware oval roaster-come-pot (pictured below). It's solid, enormous and is one of my favourite pieces of cookware. Actually, I sold dozens of them when I co-owned the cooking school and cookware store. I'm not sure that the company still makes them, but if you ever spot one, do consider investing in it.

RIB-STICKING SMOKED HOCK, BEAN & VEGETABLE SOUP WITH FREGOLA SARDA
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large brown onion, chopped
1 large clove smoked garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly diced
sea salt and cracked pepper, to season
1 good sized, good quality smoked pork hock
enough water to cover the hock
410g can chopped tomatoes
420g can five bean mix, drained*
420g can red kidney beans, drained*
2-3 tablespoons toasted fregola sarda 
10 grape or cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil in a deep stock pot or Dutch oven. Toss in the chopped onion, garlic and carrot, sprinkle with a little salt and sauté over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is golden. Place the hock over the top of the vegetables, followed by the tin of tomatoes, and enough water to cover the meat.

Bring to the boil, then pop a lid onto the pan, reduce heat and simmer gently for an hour, until the meat starts to loosen from the bone. Sometimes I cut slits through the meat at this stage, to release the full flavour. 

Now, add the tinned beans and the toasted fregola sarda, together with the grape or cherry tomatoes. Simmer gently for around 30-40 minutes longer, until the fregola is tender. Sprinkle over the fresh parsley, season to taste with sea salt and cracked pepper, and serve immediately, with chunks of meat cut from the bone. Serves 4 (or two hungry little piggies).


​* Note: Save the liquid drained from the canned beans and make Aquafaba Meringues. Incidentally, I've been using the canned bean products from Aldi and find them particularly good.
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Meagers Meats smoked hock - from the Burrawang region in the NSW Southern Highlands - Liz Posmyk Good Things
The 'value-added' smoked hock from Meagers, Burrawang & Moss Vale
The Maugers brand is synonymous with the finest quality meat from the Southern Highlands, sold direct through two butcher shops, Moss Vale and Burrawang. The smokehouse is at the store in Hoddle Street, Burrawang. Please stay tuned for my interview with traditional butchers and farmers, John Mauger and his son, Mathew, from Maugers Meats. Coming soon to Good Things.

​NB: I bought a selection of beef and pork from Maugers. This is not a sponsored post.


Your turn dear fellow cooks. Do you enjoy rib-sticking soups, like this one? And for non-vegetarians, is smoked pork ever on the menu at your place? Thank you for taking the time to leave me a comment. I do love hearing from you.
26 Comments
Tandy I Lavender and Lime link
30/8/2016 11:58:56 pm

Looks totally delicious Liz. Soup features every night in our house in winter

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:21:14 am

Thank you, Tandy, we love soup too!

Reply
Mandy link
31/8/2016 10:17:44 am

One of my favourite childhood meals although the tomatoes are a new edition. Love that!
Have a wonderful day Lizzy.
:-) Mandy xo

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:23:07 am

Thanks Mandy... I love the tomatoes. Add great flavour.

Reply
Glenda link
31/8/2016 10:51:18 am

Love the photo, Liz. Soon it will be summer cooking, so you better enjoy your soup whilst you can.

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:23:29 am

True, true, Glenda. Bitterly cold here today!

Reply
John / Kitchen Riffs link
31/8/2016 01:05:44 pm

What a great looking pork hock! And what a wonderful soup -- just what we'll be eating in a month or two. :-)

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:23:48 am

Yummy, John! Thanks for stopping by.

Reply
David link
31/8/2016 02:27:48 pm

I love soups like this, and our butcher at the market carries some beautiful smoked hocks. Can't wait for winter to try this!

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:24:03 am

Bring it on!

Reply
Fiona Ryan
31/8/2016 07:38:30 pm

I love this type of dish though I have to say that once we get through the soups and braises we have in the freezer, there will be no more this year as Spring has definitely sprung here!

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:24:22 am

Ooooh, lucky you. Freezing here!

Reply
Amanda link
31/8/2016 07:39:54 pm

This soup looks divine and I can almost smell it through the screen. Nice work Liz.

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:24:38 am

Thank you, Amanda, thank you very much.

Reply
Eha
31/8/2016 08:52:15 pm

Liz: daresay both you and me were brought up on this - yes, perhaps minus the tomatoes. Lovely, especially once one has the pork hock: most else will probably already be at home. Tho' 'fregola sarda' is new for me!! Maugers a bit of a drive down the road but have filed it since I cannot access quite this quality locally. And soup: well, I eat salads quite happily in winter and soups are far from a 'no-no' in the warmer months!!

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:25:40 am

Hello dear Eha... no, my mother didn't make this soup exactly, this is my own creation. And it's perfect for this cold snap. Per my email to you.... Mauger's is planning to introduce home delivery to your part of the world soon, keep in touch with them.

Reply
Eha
3/9/2016 09:02:18 pm

Thanks Liz! Shall do . . .

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella link
2/9/2016 03:44:23 am

I end up making something like this every winter whenever I want to clear out things from the crisper or the pantry. It's so versatile. You can really add so many different things and it works out somehow :)

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:25:56 am

A good plan, Lorraine!

Reply
Karen (Back Road Journal) link
2/9/2016 02:37:38 pm

I love the chewy texture of fregola and like the idea of using it in soup. Your recipe sounds delicious.

Reply
Lizzy
3/9/2016 03:26:12 am

Me too, Karen, really delicious.

Reply
Bob Bennett
3/9/2016 03:26:30 am

This is my kind of meal. Gut filler.

Reply
Simone Mason
3/9/2016 03:26:56 am

Lizzy, I saw this on Facebook and loved it. Planning to make some during the week. Cold here also.

Reply
CC
3/9/2016 03:27:18 am

That looks yummy. There's nothing wrong with the photo.

Reply
william link
15/9/2016 05:15:25 pm

Looks delicious. With it coming up to winter i'll be sure to make this one night to keep warm! ;-)

Reply
Andrea
2/6/2017 07:30:48 pm

Looks delicious and what's needed for our cold winter! Going to be on the menu for sure; growing up in Cairns I never really enjoyed soup but that has certainly changed now. What is fregola sardi? Xx

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