Three Country Soup Recipes That Belong On Your Menu
Simple, Plentiful, Nutritious, Delicious and Cheap!
I grew up in country Australia in a place similar to what you might imagine the outback to look like. The dirt was red, the sky blue as far as you could see and the air dry, carrying the scent of dust and eucalyptus. Only the paddocks sown with crops turned green and gold, each divided by wire fences secured to wooden posts. The rest were strewn with exotic weeds that I once saw sold in a florist shop when I visited the city.
Summers were dry and blistering hot. Winters brought a seeping cold that meant you could never get completely warm unless you almost sat yourself on the wood cooker.
Dinner with friends in winter was served out of a soup pot with a side of crusty, homemade bread. Simple, plentiful, nutritious, delicious and of course cheap. Made with love and inexpensive staples one could expect in the country.
The Boiler of Stock
The best among those soup recipes were those my grandmother’s made with the simple ham hock. This off-cut of meat that sold for a fraction of the price of its leg ham counterpart, which made it a household staple. Boiled in a pot of water until the meat fell off the bone, this cut of meat made a simple stock and the beginning…
