The first time I ever had hodge podge was at my old boyfriend's grandparents' house. When they set the bowl in front of me I thought "oh god, I hate peas and I hate cooked carrots and I am going to have to eat all of it so as not to be rude." Well, it was honestly one of the most delicious meals I had ever had teaching me once again that veggies coming straight from a garden are delicious and not to be messed with. The simplicity of this dish and the freshness of the ingredients is what makes hodge podge a beautiful thing.
This is my haul from the farmer's market this morning. Not all of this went into my hodge podge, that would just be wrong but I knew when I looked at my treasure of veggies, hodge podge was on the menu. I already had the potatoes and beets from a farm down the road and cooked these two separately.
I cooked the potatoes in chicken broth until they were tender. I roasted the beets in the oven for almost an hour and I chopped everything else into large pieces. To roast beets I wrap them in tinfoil, then roast them in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes depending on their size. This was perfect for smaller beets - I wrapped three small ones into one tinfoil package.
All the ingredients MUST be fresh and recently plucked. You cannot substitute frozen or, god forbid, canned veggies in this recipe.
Hodge Podge
4 - 5 new potatoes quartered
a handful of string beans trimmed and snapped in half
2 - 3 small zucchini trimmed and cut into chunks
3 - 4 carrots trimmed and cut into chunks
2 - 3 beets, roasted, peeled and cut into chunks (optional)
1 cup of shelled peas (they did not have any at the farmer's market so sadly my hodge podge is missing this lovely addition)
2 tbsp of butter
~600 ml of half and half cream
2 cups of chicken broth (veggie broth can also be used or just plain salted water)
2 garlic cloves peeled and slightly smashed
1 bunch of thyme
salt and pepper
Place the potatoes and the chicken broth (if there is not salt in your broth then add some as well) in a pot and bring to a boil. Boil gently until tender and then drain the broth. Do not throw it away! It can be kept in the fridge to use again.
Turn the heat to low. Add the veggies (hold the beets), cream, butter, garlic and thyme with some salt and pepper to the pot with the potatoes. Gently simmer for 20 min then taste your carrots. See if they are done to your liking. I prefer my veggies to have some body to them, hating on the mushy veggies. If they are done well for you, then remove the thyme and garlic and add salt and pepper as needed. If I am serving this to a group then I serve the beets on the side but if it is just for my family, then I add the beets and watch the cream turn a weirdly wonderful shade of pink. This meal is nice served with crusty bread.
Serves 4 - 6 depending on quantity and size of veggies you added.
Hodge Podge
4 - 5 new potatoes quartered
a handful of string beans trimmed and snapped in half
2 - 3 small zucchini trimmed and cut into chunks
3 - 4 carrots trimmed and cut into chunks
2 - 3 beets, roasted, peeled and cut into chunks (optional)
1 cup of shelled peas (they did not have any at the farmer's market so sadly my hodge podge is missing this lovely addition)
2 tbsp of butter
~600 ml of half and half cream
2 cups of chicken broth (veggie broth can also be used or just plain salted water)
2 garlic cloves peeled and slightly smashed
1 bunch of thyme
salt and pepper
Place the potatoes and the chicken broth (if there is not salt in your broth then add some as well) in a pot and bring to a boil. Boil gently until tender and then drain the broth. Do not throw it away! It can be kept in the fridge to use again.
Turn the heat to low. Add the veggies (hold the beets), cream, butter, garlic and thyme with some salt and pepper to the pot with the potatoes. Gently simmer for 20 min then taste your carrots. See if they are done to your liking. I prefer my veggies to have some body to them, hating on the mushy veggies. If they are done well for you, then remove the thyme and garlic and add salt and pepper as needed. If I am serving this to a group then I serve the beets on the side but if it is just for my family, then I add the beets and watch the cream turn a weirdly wonderful shade of pink. This meal is nice served with crusty bread.
Serves 4 - 6 depending on quantity and size of veggies you added.
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