Smoked Ham Broth

A delicious dish can sometimes be created from the scraps of another. After Making a terrine with smoked ham hocks that had been braised until they could be broken into small pieces off the bone, I decided to keep the skin and bones. Using these as a flavour base it was just a short step to making a deeply rich and what some might call 'unctuous' broth, full of wonderfully comforting hammy goodness. Some small tweaks in flavour, seasoning and the addition of some parsley, peas and spring onion were capped off with an egg that had been poached in a tea made from fresh lemon verbena. Having a lemony fresh egg with a creamy runny yolk meant that you could have a little fun smashing it into bite size pieces, but in doing so the soup was thickened and enriched even further with its meaty whites. The end result being a seemingly simple clear soup with vegetables that evolved into an extremely satisfying meal.