Pork

The pork noticed at reference 1 resulted in a bit left over. But as it turned out, BH had another tenderloin lurking the freezer, so further pork activity was indicated, rather just losing the bit of tenderloin in a snack somewhere along the way.

Soaked some pearl barley - maybe 6oz - in three pints of water. Bring to the boil about an hour and a half before the off. Simmer.

Cook some onions on the side, adding the pork when the onions are soft.

Add leeks - a novelty for us in this connection - to the pearl barley and bring back to heat. After about five minutes, add in the pork and onions. Add in the chopped mushroom stalks.

A few minutes before the off add the mushroom caps.

Very good it was too. Finished off for tea as I recall. Doesn't stand terribly well.

A different format for the other half the following day, half a tenderloin being nearly enough for the two of us these days. Onions, then yellow pepper, then celery. Then pork, then carrot. Mushrooms, as ever, at the end.

Served with noodles, beetroot and green salad.

The carrots were just right, with just the right amount of bite left - this being one of the reason my stews do not stand so well - the bite goes off. But maybe there were rather a lot of them. Not that they tasted wrong, but the dish as a whole was a bit on the orange side. Maybe if I had added something small and green for contrast?

The noodles should perhaps have been loosened with a little oil before serving, but that did not really matter. What did matter was that the noodles, from a packet which had been opened a good while ago, tasted a little stale. Maybe we should not have been eating them quite such a long time past their best-before date: Sharwood's might a be a good brand for noodles, but they don't last forever!

The last pork soup is to be found at reference 2, six months ago, white cabbage rather than leeks. I am reminded, a bit late in the day, of cooking the mushroom caps separately.

While turning up pork soups, I also turned up a mutton broth at reference 3. Or at least a lamb broth. With leeks rather than cabbage. Something to be tried again the on the next suitable slot.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/11/trolley-768.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/03/more-pork-soup.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/04/sheep-soup.html.