Ingredients to make Typical Mercian Cooked with Balls:
- Ingredients for the broth (for 6 people):
- Green beans (150-200gr.)
- Celery (1-2 branches)
- Potatoes (6 small)
- Free-range chicken (1 thigh or part of the breast)
- Turkey (a thigh, if it is very large, medium)
- Veal (Marcello, 1/4 kg.)
- Sausage (1 piece)
- Lamb (breast tip or knuckle – optional)
- Carrots (2-3)
- Chickpeas (5 handfuls soak overnight)
- Colorant
- Iberian bacon (100gr.)
- Salt to taste
- Ingredients for the soup:
- broth of the stew
- thin noodles
- Parsley
- Garlic
- Ingredients for the balls:
- 1/2 kg. minced pork
- Turkey breast (about 150 gr.)
- Red sausage (100gr.)
- 4 eggs
- pine nuts to taste
- 50-100 gr. of white
- Lemon juice
- Chopped parsley
- 2-3 cloves of minced hard garlic
- Bread (crumb of a round loaf)
How to make typical Mercian stew with balls:
- The pork, the turkey breast, the white and the red sausage are minced (you can ask your butcher to prepare it for you).
- Add the other ingredients and mix everything well.
- Small balls are formed.
- Preparation of the stew:
- Put all the ingredients in a pressure cooker, cover them with water and cook (approximately 30 minutes depending on the specifications of the pot).
- Add the balls and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Preparation of the soup:
- There are people who like to have coccid soup with balls as a starter. It is prepared in a simple way from the stew broth, adding noodles, chopped garlic and chopped parsley.
- Cook for a few minutes until the noodles are made and serve with a few balls in the broth.
