The "What's What" on HODGEPODGE:
The sweet smell of Hodgepodge will soon be wafting from a Nova Scotia Kitchen near you!
I remember my first bowl of the creamy delight! It was extra comforting as I had just gotten my wisdom teeth out, and as a "Come from Away" I had no idea the delicacy I was about to dive into. What a treat for my sore gums!
It's all in the name; the term Hodgepodge today means any mixture of things that are not really meant to go together. But the origin comes straight from our delicious and well known summer time stew. The origin is ultimately french dating back to the 14th century:
hocherpot. Hocher the french verb "
to shake" refers to a mixture of odds and ends all shaken together into a stew. In the 15th century the British adopted the term into Hotchpotch, and as our language evolved the word has moved towards our current pronunciation of Hodgepodge!
The recipe below outlines certain produce to use, to stay true to the name, feel free to throw in what ever early summer produce you have available!
Recipe
- 1 cup green beans, ends trimmed
- 1 cup yellow beans, ends trimmed
- 1 cup fresh peas shelled
- 10 baby carrots, halved
- 4 new potatoes, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
1) Place beans, peas, carrots and milk to a medium sized pot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
2) Boil for about 10 minutes
3) Add potatoes, butter and cream. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through
4) season with more salt and pepper as desired.