Hua Whenua for Matariki

A warming and inviting way to bring family and friends together to celebrate this very special date.

Matariki is the Māori word for a cluster of stars also known as Pleiades. When Matariki returns to our skies around June/ July – after disappearing around April/ May - it symbolises the beginning of the Māori New Year. Traditionally, Māori have used Matariki as a guide for harvesting for many generations. One of the most popular things to do during this time is to hold a celebration and share some lovingly prepared kai (food) with our whānau, friends and community.

Hua Whenua, sometimes also called Friendship Soup, is a great dish option, as everyone contributes with some ingredients from their pantry, fridge or vege garden, to make one big pot of steaming, nourishing soup. Children can be involved in the gathering and preparation of ingredients, creating many opportunities for learning about Māori culture and how we can look after Papatūānuku (the Earth mother). In our version of Hua Whenua, for example, we went to our garden and looked for what was ready to harvest: we found silverbeet, celery and some fresh herbs. In addition, we asked everyone to bring a vegetable (or vegetable off-cut, from home). We also made sure to keep all our vegetable peelings while preparing the soup to feed it to our worms, as their juice will help our veges grow bigger and tastier, and we’ll reduce waste going to landfill.

Save any peelings for the worm farm or compost bin :)

Because Matariki is also a time strongly connected to Ranginui (the Sky father) and the stars, we made some delicious cheese and herb Star-shaped Croutons to serve with our soup. Again, we made sure to keep the bread off-cuts to make breadcrumbs to be used in another recipe, instead of throwing them away (breadcrumbs can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months – simply crumb bread in a food processor or blender).

Other ideas for activities when making Friendship Soup could include using/ showing traditional Maori vegetables, learning the names of the ingredients in Te Reo (Māori language) and invite whānau to come along and join in the feast. In addition, you could commemorate Matariki by making and flying kites (pākau), weave harakeke whetū (flax stars) and salute Māori culture through waita (song), dance, games and legends.

Friendship Soup with Star-shaped Croutons

Ingredients:

Any vegetables or vegetable off-cuts. We had: 1 x onion, 2 x carrots, 2 x celery stalks, 3 x potatoes, 1 x kumara, 1/4 swede and 4 x silverbeet leaves
Canned chopped tomatoes (if whole, roughly chop them - placing in a bowl and mashing with a whisk works well, otherwise, squash them using clean hands). We had: 1 x can chopped tomatoes
Canned beans or other pulses, such as chickpeas or lentils. We had: 1 x can mixed beans
Any fresh herbs. We had: a sprig of rosemary
Pasta shapes. We had: a handful of macaroni
Salt, for seasoning (you could also use a low-sodium vegetable stock cube)
Olive oil, or similar
For the Star-shaped Croutons you’ll need:
Sliced bread (preferably, wholegrain - for extra goodness!),
Cheese for grating (we used Edam),
Chopped fresh or dried herbs, and kitchen oil spray.

Method:

1. Start by gathering all your ingredients - vegetables, canned tomatoes, beans and pasta.

2. Peel and dice all your vegetables. Leafy greens, such as silverbeet, can be shredded, and stalks diced or sliced separately.

3. Don’t forget to keep your peelings, as these can be added to your worm farm or compost bin.

4. Drain the beans and mash half of it - reserving the other half whole (the mashed beans will help thicken up the soup and give it a lovely silky texture).

Cooking the Friendship Soup

1. Add a little olive oil, or similar, to the pan. Start by frying onions, carrots, celery and any stalks on a medium-low heat for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add diced tomatoes.

2. Add mashed beans and enough water to cover the vegetables by a couple of centimetres. Add any sprigs of fresh (or dried herbs) and bring soup to a boil.

3. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cover pan (if a lid is available, otherwise it’s fine to leave it open). Simmer for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the remaining vegetables - potatoes, kumara, pumpkin, swede, etc. (apart from leafy greens - as these only need a few minutes to cook). Continue simmering until these vegetables are just cooked.

5. Now add the pasta shapes. If you’ve different pasta, check for the cooking times as they can vary, add any pasta that takes longer while the veges are still slightly firm. If the soup seems quite dry, add more water to allow for pasta to cook.

6. Once pasta is cooked, add the reserved beans and any leafy greens. Cook for a few more minutes (3 to 5 mins should suffice). Check seasoning and the soup is ready to serve!