Meatball Stew Soup
Households all over the province of Quebec serve sumptuous ragoût de boulettes on December 25 (the literal translation, meatball stew, doesn’t do it justice). To give the old-school recipe a new spin, Ricardo transformed it into a soup. With Christmasy spices, pork meatballs and broth, a new tradition was born. To make it even more festive, […]
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb (340 g) lean ground pork
- 1/4 cup (30 g) bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp juniper berries
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 5 cups (1.25 litres) chicken broth
Instructions
- With the rack in the top position, preheat the oven’s broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- In a bowl, combine the meat, bread crumbs, egg and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Working with lightly oiled hands, shape each meatball using 1 tsp (5 ml) of the meat mixture. Place on the prepared sheet.
- Bake for 5 minutes or until the meatballs are golden brown. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, place the spices in a tea strainer or wrap in two layers of cheesecloth. Set aside.
- In a pot over medium-high heat, soften the vegetables and garlic in the butter. Add the broth and spice mixture. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Remove the spices.
Households all over the province of Quebec serve sumptuous ragoût de boulettes on December 25 (the literal translation, meatball stew, doesn’t do it justice). To give the old-school recipe a new spin, Ricardo transformed it into a soup. With Christmasy spices, pork meatballs and broth, a new tradition was born. To make it even more festive, they served the soup in a handsome tureen and ladled it out at the table.