Hodge podge is an affordable and comforting meal using ingredients that can easily be grown in Nova Scotia. It’s a great meal to start off soup season at the end of the harvest.
A few years back I won a contest with Farmers Market of Nova Scotia and it came with tons of goodies including seeds, stickers, market money and a recipe for Nova Scotia Hodgepodge (yes, all the seeds were for the ingredients.)
This recipe was a blast to make, I took satisfaction in cubing up all the ingredients.
Nova Scotia Hodgepodge
2 cups cubed potatoes
1 cup cubed carrots
2 cups of green or yellow beans, cut into 1” pieces
1 cup shelled fresh peas
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Add potatoes to a large pot and add just enough water to cover. Season lightly with salt. Bring to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-high heat and continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 4 minutes (they should be half done at this point).
Add the carrots and continue cooking for 4 more minutes or unto both the carrots and potatoes are tender.
Add the beans and peas and continue to cook until their colours intensify (~2 minutes). Remove from heat.
If you prefer a thicker hodgepodge, remove 25% of the water before adding the cream and butter- if you want a soupier texture, leave the water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and enjoy!
