New Zealander recipe

How to make Boil-up

Name: Boil-up
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: New Zealander
Ingredients: 1.2 kg pork bones, bacon bones or pork pieces with bone; 2.5 litres water; 1 onion, chopped; 4 potatoes, peeled and cut in half; 2 kūmara (sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into chunks; 1 large bunch of watercress or pūhā, or half a green cabbage, chopped; Salt and pepper; For the doughboys: 150 g self-raising flour, a pinch of salt and about 100 ml water

Māori home cooking

A hearty broth of pork bones or meat simmered with potatoes or kūmara and greens such as pūhā (sow thistle), watercress or cabbage, with flour dumplings called 'doughboys' cooked on top.

Serves 6 2 h 30 min

Ingredients

1.2 kg pork bones, bacon bones or pork pieces with bone
2.5 litres water
1 onion, chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and cut in half
2 kūmara (sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into chunks
1 large bunch of watercress or pūhā, or half a green cabbage, chopped
Salt and pepper
For the doughboys: 150 g self-raising flour, a pinch of salt and about 100 ml water

Method

Put the pork bones, onion and water in a large pot. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam, then cover and simmer gently for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until the meat is tender.
Add the potatoes and kūmara and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile mix the flour and salt with enough water to make a soft, sticky dough. Drop tablespoons of it on top of the simmering broth, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
Add the watercress, pūhā or cabbage and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the greens are tender.
Season with salt and pepper and serve in deep bowls, with meat, vegetables, doughboys and plenty of broth.

Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.

Boil-ups began in the 1800s, when Māori adopted pigs, potatoes and iron cooking pots brought by European settlers.