ver 700,000 tonnes of food is thrown into landfill in Victoria every year, which is equivalent to 28,000 fully stocked supermarkets. The Feed Melbourne Gourmet Soup Lunch raises vital funds to help local charities like FareShare rescue excess food headed for landfill to produce free nutritious meals for those struggling to find a feed.

Over two lunchtime events, Melburnians will have the chance to sample some of the best soup in town, as 30 of the city’s top restaurants unite, helping to raise money to feed those in need.

Showcasing a pot of their signature winter soup and available for just $5 per serve – which will feed 10 people in need – some of the restaurants involved include Coda, Mamasita, Attica, MoVida, Chin Chin, Cutler & Co., Rockpool and Trunk.

We caught up with Trunk head chef, Orazio Cutuli, who’s been in the game for 25 years and has created a special white bean and Spanish pork soup for the Feed Melbourne lunches. A twist on the bean soups his Sicilian parents used to make, he says the soup is “nourishing and obviously tasty, but it’s also a hearty and filling dish, perfect for cold weather”. His secrets for the perfect soup? “Take your time and don’t fuss too much. A good rustic soup is just a bit of everything you love thrown together, and don’t drown the thing in stock. You can always add more later.”

Trunk’s White Bean and Spanish Pork Soup

Serves eight

Ingredients
For Spanish Pork
500g coarse ground pork mince (this is the most crucial ingredient in this soup and the more fat in your mince the more flavour you get)
2 tbsp paprika piquant
1 tbsp freshly ground fennel seeds
1 tbsp thyme, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 whole chillies, minced
1 tbsp freshly ground coriander seeds
½ tbsp. freshly ground cumin seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
5g salt

For the soup
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup brown onions, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps thyme, chopped
1 tbsp rosemary, chopped
Seasoning (1 tsp each paprika, salt and black pepper)
8 large vine ripened truss tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp tomato paste
200g haricot beans (soaked and drained)
400ml red wine
2L chicken stock
3g white pepper

Method
Part 1 (the day before) – Spanish Pork
1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and knead together.
2. Refrigerate the mix overnight to allow the flavours to enrich and marinade into the meat.
3. Soak your dried haricot beans overnight in cold water.

Part 2 – The Soup
1. Preheat largest pot you own at highest heat possible, remembering the bigger the base, the better caramelisation of your ingredients.
2. Place half a cup of olive oil into your pot, along with the carrots, celery, onions, thyme, rosemary, garlic and seasonings.
3. Sauté these ingredients until lightly golden then move them to the edges of the pan.
4. Add your Spanish pork in half golf ball sized chunks to the centre of the pan.
5. At this stage it’s all about patience and attention; let your meat sit and caramelise on the bottom of the pan only turning it over once it’s golden brown (like you would a steak).
6. Once all meat is golden, add your tomatoes and tomato paste, sauté down for a further 5 minutes.
7. By now, you should have a golden coat of flavour sticking to the bottom of your pan. It’s now time to deglaze by adding the red wine and beans.
8. Reduce your wine by half then add your chicken stock and white pepper.
9. Simmer for two hours and garnish with salsa verde to serve.

Feed Melbourne Gourmet Soup Lunch #1
Thursday June 21 from 11.30am
Queensbridge Square, Southbank

Feed Melbourne Gourmet Soup Lunch #2
Tuesday June 26 from 11.30am
NAB Forecourt, Docklands

feedmelbourne.org.au