Stone Soup

by Jan

There’s an old folk tale about three hungry travelers passing through a small town. Wary of the strangers, the townsfolk claim that there is no food to be had in the whole of their village. The three travelers then offer to share their own stone soup with the villagers. They take a big pot and fill it with water, and after adding three special stones they put it on to boil. The travelers ooooh and ahhhh over their kettle and the villagers watch curiously.

"You’re going to love our stone soup," says one of the travelers, "It’s delicious. Once, we added carrots to a batch. Oh! That was unbelievably good! But this soup will be delicious anyway."

One of the townspeople runs off to his home and brings back some carrots to add to the pot. "Here, I was saving these carrots for our Sunday dinner, but I’ll share them with you instead if it will make for a better soup." The travelers thank the man for his carrots and add them to the soup.

"There’s not much heartier than a stone soup with carrots and potatoes," says one of the travelers. "This will still be a tasty soup, but add some potatoes and--ooolala!" A woman breaks away from the crowd and soon comes running back with a big basket of potatoes. The travelers add these to the pot as well. And so it goes, the travelers reminiscing about all of the delicious soups they had made in the past, and the townspeople bringing ingredients from their homes--some the travelers told of adding to past soups, and some that they had never tried before. When at last the soup is ready, the townspeople all agree they have never eaten such a delicious meal. They thank the travelers for sharing their recipe, for now that they know how to make soup out of stones they will never go hungry again!

I don’t know about you, but I feel like brewing up a big pot of stone soup myself. For a gathering that’s even more adventurous than the usual potluck (and cheaper too!) why not throw a Stone Soup party? Just ask your guests to each bring something to add to the soup. If you want to ensure variety, assign each guest to bring an ingredient that starts with a certain letter of the alphabet. Each soup you make will be unique, but here’s a basic Stone Soup recipe that was inspired by a recent trip to our local farmer’s market. You can follow the basic steps, adding in your guests’ ingredients to make your own unique soup! This recipe makes enough for a big crowd, if not a whole hungry village.

Stone Soup Ingredients

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 cups cabbage, chopped

2 medium turnips, peeled and chopped

3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

3 quarts vegetable soup stock or broth

1 Tbsp parsley

3/4 tsp dried rosemary

2 tsp dried thyme

freshly ground pepper and salt

Directions

In a big soup pot, heat oil and saute onions and garlic for 5 to 10 minutes until onions are translucent.

Add cabbage and saute an additional 2 minutes.

Add remaining vegetables, stock or broth, parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

Add pepper and salt to taste.

Potluck Stone Soup Notes

Be sure to keep in mind any allergies or food preferences that your guests may have.

Noodles and dumplings should be added toward the end of your cooking time.

Use canned beans instead of dry for quicker cooking times.

You can make your own soup stock ahead of time, use canned broth, or use bouillon powder or cubes.

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