Repurposed leftovers: Boudin Ball Soup

[Dannyalcatraz]

My aunt brought us a bunch of boudin balls from NOLA, and I wanted to try something besides a sandwich.  So I thought, why not soup?  So I went looking for recipes and found…none.  So I had to think of something of my own, which resulted in this:

 

 

 

Obviously, I was inspired by matzoh ball soup- one of my faves.  I added the spinach and mushrooms because I thought they’d pair nicely with the boudin.  I had also thought about tomato soups or avgolemono, but this was the one I decided to go down first.

 

I sautéing most of the veggies: a stalk of celery, a carrot, 3 white button mushrooms, and one bunch of green onions.  After they looked & smelled right, I added chicken broth, a bouillon cube, parsley, white pepper, ground black pepper, and bay leaf.

 

When all that reached a boil, I turned off the heat and added some julienned baby spinach leaves.

 

This broth was served with a single leftover boudin ball. 

 

Like a good matzoh ball, the boudin ball retained its integrity while soaking in the broth.  But when you’d slice off a bit with the edge of your spoon to have a bite, the sliced off portion would soften pretty quickly.  It almost became…creamy.

 

The verdict: this experiment was a success.  I put in a little too much white pepper, but the overall flavor was a hit.  Will do this again.

 

 

[Dave Bryce]

As a huge Matzoh ball soup fan, I’m dying to try this.   Not sure where in LA to find the Boudin ball…might have to try to learn to make one.

 

This looks like a decent recipe.

 

dB

[Dannyalcatraz]

I can’t be sure, of course, but that one might be more complex than the ones we were given.  Still, couldn’t hurt!  The broth itself, while tasty, is pretty neutral in comparison to the balls themselves.

 

As for finding commercial ones…I’d be surprised if LA’s complex and varied food scene didn’t have at least ONE quality Creole/Cajun restaurant, food truck or grocery store.  Or at least a grocery store hiding some in a frozen food section or in their in-house food service.

 

Hell- since a boudin ball is just a de-skinned boudin link, rolled and baked, you might be able to find some frozen in a grocery store freezer, or hanging in your local butcher’s shop.

 

Barring THAT, there’s no shortage of places in Louisiana that will ship you such delights by mail…for a price, of course.  But that gets pricey, fast, so online recipe hunting might be your best bet.

 

I’ll say this, though: I’m not depending on my aunt trafficking in Creole meat products, or the restaurants, etc. around here.  I’m looking at recipes myself, and that one was one I had planned to look at.

 

I might also check to see if any of the more famous Creole chefs’ or restaurants’ recipes made it to the internet or YouTube.

[Gerrtrud]

Hey there! Repurposing leftovers is a great way to minimize food waste and get creative in the kitchen. Boudin ball soup sounds like a delicious idea! It's amazing how you can transform leftovers into something completely new and tasty. By the way, if you're looking to enhance the flavor and nutritional value of your homemade soups, have you ever tried using bone broth?

[Gerrtrud]

There's this website, https://healofoods.com/products/heritage-beef-bone-broth, that offers a heritage beef bone broth that can really take your soup game to the next level. I just thought I'd share the link in case it interests any of you.

[Dannyalcatraz]

On 7/14/2023 at 1:08 AM, Gerrtrud said:

Hey there! Repurposing leftovers is a great way to minimize food waste and get creative in the kitchen. Boudin ball soup sounds like a delicious idea! It's amazing how you can transform leftovers into something completely new and tasty. By the way, if you're looking to enhance the flavor and nutritional value of your homemade soups, have you ever tried using bone broth?

Not yet.  But it’s on my radar.

On 7/16/2023 at 9:04 PM, Gerrtrud said:

There's this website, https://healofoods.com/products/heritage-beef-bone-broth, that offers a heritage beef bone broth that can really take your soup game to the next level. I just thought I'd share the link in case it interests any of you.

Thanks!