Pork Meatballs in Broth

I tried another recipe on Friday night, adding more diversity to our weekly menu.  I used a recipe from this blog which also links back to a blog she was inspired from.  This recipe is a version of Nigel Slater's (apparently a well known chef in the UK) Chicken Broth with Pork and Kale from his book Tender. Um yeah, I need to do some more research on Nigel Slater.

Variations I made in comparison to the two blogs linked above are: I used vegetable broth from Eatly (still have some leftover!) instead of a homemade broth.  My chilies were green instead of red (not sure it matters, you want something spicy, but not overwhelming), I did not add kale or zucchini, just plain old meatballs and broth. I fried my meatballs as directed by the original recipe, but deviates from the original blog I found this from.  It would be worth trying simply steeping the meatballs as this cuts down the amount of cooking time and fat in the dish.  As I'm not very savvy in picking meat here in the Netherlands, I suspect I used full fat pork meat... would be worth seeing if I can get a leaner meat as well.  

Pork Meatballs in Broth

1. Add pork into a large mixing bowl

2. Finely chop chilies and add to mixing bowl

3. Slice scallions (discarding the roots and very darkest tips of the leaves) and add to mixing bowl. 

4. Mince the garlic and add to mixing bowl. 

5. Chop mint and parsley (I included the stems of the parsley, but used only mint leaves) and add to the mixing bowl (note, I chopped coarsely per blog's instructions, I will be modifying this the next time and chopping finer). 

 

6. Using your hands, mix thoroughly and form meatballs (recipe recommends 1.25 inches in diameter, basically make them bite size or whatever size is comfortable for you. I plan to modify the next time and make them much smaller). 

7. Bring the vegetable stock to a boil (season additionally if needed).  

8. Heat a thin slick of oil in a pan (I used a stainless steel pan, you can also do this in a cast iron pan) and cook the pork balls until each side has been cooked (and browned slightly).  Not more than 5 minutes. Cook in batches as needed. The meatballs do not need to be fully cooked as they will cook further in the broth.

9. Lower the cooked pork balls into the broth and cook on a low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the pork balls are cooked through (I checked by pulling one out and cutting through to check for pink meat).  Serve immediately. 

You can see some of the herbs fell loose from the meatballs, one reason to chop finer to more easily incorporate the ingredients.  On the other hand, we actually liked the herbs floating around as it gave a nice flavor to the broth combined with the richness of the meat.  You can make the meatballs ahead of time (I had them prepared a couple of hours before I fried them up)... I would imagine they could be frozen, but I haven't tried that yet myself. 

The flavors of the spicy chilies combined with the mint and parsley came through beautifully in this recipe.  After letting the broth sit for a while, the spicy chilies became more pronounced in the broth which was a lovely touch.  I especially loved getting bits of mint and I think this recipe would do well with a touch of cilantro too! If you are looking for something new, this is a great recipe.  Compare with the other blogs I've linked to to see how you would like to make your soup!