I'm toying with the idea of making some soup – just a simple one. The recipe call for boiling/simmering a pig-knuckle for about four hours together with a laurel-leaf. Afterwards the stock/fond is strained, the meat stripped from the knuckle, and vegetables and the meat is put into the fond to make the soup – which should boil for another 10 minutes.
The thing is, I was wondering if I could do something more with it. I thinking about adding vegetables, herbs and spices when cooking/simmering the knuckle, to add flavor to the stock and/or meat.
I was thinking root-vegetables like celery-root, beats and carrots… perhaps leek… perhaps onions, perhaps garlic – maybe after frying them lightly in some butter (before adding the water to cook the knuckle)… I guess black pepper would be OK, but what about chili? And what about some fresh herbs and spices?
My first thought would be to strain the stock and throw-away the out-boiled vegetables, since I'll be adding fresh ones to the soup anyway… But could some (eg. the root-vegetables) or all be puraied in a mixer and added to the soup to make it "thicker" – and perhaps add flavor?
I you probably understand, I'm a lot better at eating food than making it, so any advice would be appreciated.
Best Answer
There's no reason why you couldn't boil vegetables as you make the stock and then puree them in as a base. It's really about taste and the result you want.
Making the stock without vegetables in it will give you a clear broth with a simple pork flavor and the vegetables will be distinct in it. If you add vegetables while cooking the stock and then puree them in your base will be much more vegetable-y, and opaque - the color will be determined by the vegetables added. The pork taste will be a bit more hidden by vegetable flavors.
Spices and herbs are 2 separate matters. In general you can overcook herbs very easily but it's hard to overcook spices (although some spices can change during long cooking times). Adding bay (laurel) is one of the exceptions herb-wise. Spice-wise adding at the beginning will make the spice permeate the meat, careful not to overdo it though.
Like I said it's all about the look and taste you want.