Blood soup (recipe)

Ingredients

• 2.5kg duck OR 2kg spare ribs, OR 2kg pork loin ribs.
• Fowl trimmings (if available)
• 3.75L water
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 whole cloves
• 4 whole peppercorns
• 4 tbs flour
• 1 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs salt
• 2 tbs pepper
• 1/2 c vinegar
• 1 cup whipping cream or sour cream
• Apples: peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm pieces
• Dried fruit: 250g pitted prunes, 250g raisins
• 2 cups duck or goose blood OR 1/2 cup pig blood.

Method

1. In a pot, cover meat and fowl trimmings with water and boil slowly for 1-3 hours, depending on the size and age of the duck.
2. Skim foam from top of soup
3. Place spices in cheese cloth bag and add to soup.
4. Continue to boil slowly until meat is tender.
5. Remove meat and spice bag from soup. Reserve meat to be added back later.
6. Take out 1 cup of boiling stock and set aside.
7. Add fruit to soup.
8. Boil until apples are soft.
9. In a separate bowl, blend the flour, sugar, salt and pepper into 1/2 cup of the blood until smooth.
10. Add cream to the flour mixture. Mixture should be a light paste.
11. Add the 1 c of hot soup stock and mix until smooth.
12. Add vinegar and blend.
13. While soup is still boiling, add flour mixture and remaining blood (or prune juice if no blood was used). Stir constantly.
14. If a thicker soup is desired, add 1 c of pureed prunes.
15. Boil another 5-10 minutes. Meat may be returned to the soup.
16. Taste and adjust seasoning.
17. Allow to cool and place in refrigerator.

• Allow soup to stand overnight before serving. Because of the raisins, prunes and fruit, the soup will be sweeter the next day.