Māori Boil-Up with Kūmara and Pūhā

the defining Māori one-pot: pork bones simmered into a clear, rich broth with handfuls of pūhā (sow thistle) or watercress and kūmara, the sweet potato lending its gentle sweetness to the savoury bone stock in a preparation unchanged in spirit for seven centuries

Origin: Aotearoa New Zealand

From the journey of Sweet Potato.

The boil-up (hōkoi in some dialects) is the most characteristically Māori of all New Zealand dishes: a broad and adaptable one-pot preparation that combines whatever protein is available (pork bones are the standard; mutton flaps and punga were traditional before European contact) with the bitter, iron-rich greens of the native bush — principally pūhā (Sonchus oleraceus, sow thistle), or watercress (kānahe), which flourishes in the cold, clear streams of the North Island — and the kūmara. The Māori brought the kūmara with them from eastern Polynesia when the great voyaging canoes reached Aotearoa around 1250–1300 CE. They adapted it, through careful selection, to survive the temperate winters of New Zealand's North Island, and they stored the harvest in the kūmara rua: underground pits lined with bark and dried grasses, ventilated by small shafts, and maintained with a care that reflected the existential importance of the stored crop to the community's survival through the cold months. Damage to a kūmara rua was among the most serious transgressions in the traditional Māori world. The boil-up today is made in houses across New Zealand by Māori families for whom it carries the cultural weight of a hundred generations. It is the food of tangihanga (funerals), of hui (gatherings), and of Sunday family meals, and it is cooked essentially unchanged: bones into cold water, bring to a boil, add kūmara, add greens at the end, eat from a bowl with bread.

Ingredients

  • 1.2 kg pork bones (neck bones, spare ribs, or trotters), rinsed
  • 2.5 litres cold water
  • 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
  • 600 g orange-fleshed kūmara (sweet potato), peeled and cut into 4–5 cm chunks
  • 200 g pūhā (sow thistle) or watercress, tough stems removed, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Place the pork bones in a large pot and cover with the cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Skim off any foam and grey scum that rises to the surface during the first 5 minutes of boiling.
  2. Add the salt, reduce to a steady simmer, and cook uncovered for 1 hour 15 minutes until the pork on the bones is becoming tender and the broth is lightly cloudy and aromatic.
  3. Add the kūmara chunks. Continue to simmer for 25–30 minutes until the kūmara is completely tender but still holding its shape.
  4. Add the pūhā or watercress and stir it into the broth. Simmer for a further 3–5 minutes until the greens are wilted but still a vivid green. Taste and adjust the salt. Add the black pepper.
  5. Ladle into deep bowls, making sure each serving has some bone, some kūmara, and a generous amount of greens and broth. Serve with plenty of sliced white bread for dipping.

Notes

Pūhā (sow thistle, Sonchus oleraceus) is available from Māori vegetable stalls at New Zealand markets and from some Asian grocers, who sell it as a cooking green. Outside New Zealand, watercress is the best substitute; it has a similar bitter-peppery quality and holds its colour well in the broth. Silverbeet, spinach, or cavolo nero are workable alternatives but lack the authentic flavour. The boil-up is traditionally made with bones rather than meat joints, and the quality of the broth depends on this: the collagen and marrow from the bones is what gives the broth its body. A very large batch is traditional for hui and tangihanga; this recipe scales easily to serve twelve or more.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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