Just before the weekend, all readers who cook ask themselves this eternal question: what are we going to eat? To inspire you, The Press suggests a recipe that will make your mouth water.
Every year, the stew of meatballs and legs is found on Suzanne Duchesneau’s table during one of her holiday meals. And to prolong the pleasure, the provincial president of the Cercle des fermières prepares her dish in large quantities, then freezes part of it. She eats it like this throughout the winter.
“It’s a comforting dish,” notes the 73-year-old lady. For as long as she can remember, stew has always been part of her menu. His mother made it too. The latter, however, cooked it only with the pig’s feet, without the meatballs. “We ate it during the holidays, but also throughout the winter,” she remembers.
And if her recipe differs a little from her mother’s, because she adds ground pork, Ms. Duchesneau assures that the broth, thickened with toasted flour, has the taste of her childhood. Moreover, although most stews contain cinnamon, the president of the Cercle des fermières literally shuns this spice. “My mother didn’t like cinnamon, so she didn’t use it. I should try it one day…”
Those who would like to prepare Suzanne Duchesneau’s stew will, however, have to resolve to simmer it alongside her, taking notes, since she does not follow any recipe… For inspiration, there is always a way to fall back on that published in the book Les recipes des fermières du Québec, published in 1978.
Ingredients
- 2 pork trotters or more
- 3 quarts of water
- 454 g ground pork
- 5 tbsp. 1 tablespoon toasted flour
- 2 onions
- Salt, pepper, cloves and cinnamon
Preparation
- Cook the pork trotters in a large pot containing 3 quarts of water, onions, salt, pepper, spices, until the meat falls from the bone. Bone.
- Pour in the broth and put it back with the meat.
- Form balls with the ground pork, onion, salt, pepper and spices to taste.
- Brown the meatballs in a pan, add them to the meat in the pot and continue cooking until it is cooked.
- Add the toasted flour dissolved in water, half an hour before serving.
Source: recipe from the book Recipes from Quebec farmers.
Published on lapresse.ca on December 11, 2017.