Boil-up

Ingredients

The pot

• 1.5 kgpork bones, or smoked pork hock and bones
• 2onions, quartered
• 1 kgpotatoes, peeled and halved
• 500 gkūmara (sweet potato), in large chunks
• 500 gpumpkin, in large chunks
• salt

Greens

• 2large bunches pūhā (sow thistle), or watercress

Doughboys

• 300 gself-raising flour
• 1 tspsalt
• about 180 ml water

Directions

1. Put the pork bones and onion in a big pot, cover well with cold water, bring to the boil and skim the foam off thoroughly. Simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes, until the meat is coming off the bone.
2. Prepare the pūhā while it cooks. Wash it in several changes of water, then take handfuls and rub and squeeze them firmly under running water until the sap runs out and the leaves darken. This is what takes the bitterness out; unrubbed pūhā will make the whole pot bitter.
3. Make the doughboys by stirring water into the salted flour to a soft, sticky dough. Do not knead it — worked dough gives heavy dumplings.
4. Add the potatoes and kūmara to the pot and cook for 10 minutes, then the pumpkin.
5. Drop tablespoons of the dough onto the surface of the simmering broth, put the lid on, and leave it alone for 15 minutes. Lifting the lid collapses them.
6. Push the pūhā down into the broth and cook for a final 8–10 minutes, until it is soft and dark.
7. Season with salt, and serve in deep bowls with bones, vegetables, greens, a doughboy and plenty of broth in each.

Technique

• Rubbing the pūhā is not an optional refinement. It is the step that makes the plant good to eat.
• Watercress is the usual substitute and needs no rubbing, but it should still go in near the end or it turns to slime.
• The bones matter more than the meat — this is a broth dish, and lean pork gives a thin result.

Substitutions

• Smoked hock or bacon bones give a deeper broth than fresh bones.
• Any firm squash stands in for pumpkin.

Variations

• A post-contact Māori dish: introduced pork and wheat flour cooked with native pūhā in one pot. Beef brisket and mutton flaps are both common in place of pork.

History

A post-contact Maori dish combining introduced pork bones with native puha greens and flour doughboys in one pot.

Frequently asked questions

What is Boil-up?

Boil-up is a soup & stew from New Zealand: māori pot of pork bones, watercress or pūhā, potatoes and doughboys. A post-contact Maori dish combining introduced pork bones with native puha greens and flour doughboys in one pot.

How long does Boil-up take to make?

Boil-up takes 30 min of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Boil-up?

Yes, within limits. Smoked hock or bacon bones give a deeper broth than fresh bones. Any firm squash stands in for pumpkin.

What is the most important thing to get right in Boil-up?

Prepare the pūhā while it cooks. Wash it in several changes of water, then take handfuls and rub and squeeze them firmly under running water until the sap runs out and the leaves darken. This is what takes the bitterness out; unrubbed pūhā will make the whole pot bitter.