Chicken Stew with Pork Meatballs (Belizean Chimole)

Chimole a delicious stew/soup is of Maya origin and very popular in Belize. It is made with a spice blend called black recado that adds a wonderful smoky flavour to the dish like nothing I have had before. You can find the black recado online or you can make it yourself. The pork meatballs are outstanding and sop up the broth with a homemade tortilla. Excellent.

1 chicken, divided
4 cloves garlic
1 lb ground pork
3 eggs, hard-boiled, chopped into small pieces
2 raw eggs
3 Tbsp. black Ricardo spicemix
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1 bay leaf
2 tomatoes, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

In a small bowl add the Ricardo with enough water so that it will dissolve (add the cumin as well if you are going to use it).

In a separate bowl mix the ground pork with the hard-boiled eggs and the raw eggs, add salt and pepper to taste and the thyme, if you wish.

Form into small meat balls and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.

In a skillet, brown the chicken with the garlic.

When the chicken is brown put in large pot, add the Ricardo liquid and fill the pot with water until the chicken is covered. Add in the diced tomatoes, diced pepper, diced onion and bay leaf. Cover the pot and cook over medium-high heat for 30 minutes.

Add the meatballs and cook another 5 minutes.

If you like your soup thicker, just add a bit of cornstarch mixed with water at the end.

Serve with rice or flour tortillas.

Makes 4-6 servings.