Winter vegetable and bacon hock soup

1. Place bacon hock* in your casserole dish with 8 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, let it boil for a minute. Turn the heat to low, remove scum.

2. Add the soup mix and vegetables, bring back to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on for 1 hour or until the meat is starting to fall off the bone.

3. Use tongs to transfer the cooked bacon hock to a chopping board. Use forks to remove all meat from the bones and shred. Discard the bones and return the shredded meat to the soup and stir through.

4. Taste the soup and season well with salt and pepper and stir through fresh parsley leaves.

5. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

Tips:

Slow-cooker method: Place the bacon hock, vegetables and soup mix into your slow cooker, pour in boiling water and stir. Cook for 3-4 hours on high. Remove bone from bacon hock and chop up the meat and return to the soup. Stir through fresh parsley leaves.

*If you prefer a less salty soup, soak the bacon hock in plenty of cold water for several hours. Drain and then follow the instructions above.