Savory Stone Soup

Dinner time and story time go hand in hand with this meal.



Becky Low shares the recipe and the story behind Stone Soup.

Stone Soup
4 cups chicken or beef broth
4 cups canned tomatoes
1-2 cups diced/shredded cooked meat
1-2 cups cooked grain or pasta
1-2 cups cooked vegetables
1-2 cups cooked legumes
1 cup shredded or crumbled cheese
Seasons to taste
Topping of choice – Croutons, Sliced Green Onion, Sour Cream, Bacon crumbles

Combine equal parts broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil.



Option one – add your choice of meat, grain, pasta, vegetables and legumes. Bring to a boil and simmer to blend flavors. Season to taste with salt, pepper, pinch of herbs to taste. Serve hot soup with toppings.



Option two – leave cooked meats, grains, pasta, vegetables, and legumes in bowls. Each person places 1-2 tablespoons of each filling ingredients in their bowl. Ladle ¾-1 cup boiling broth over ingredients in bowl. Garnish with sour cream and croutons.



Notes:

The portions above and suggestions below are just suggestions. Use leftovers; prepare ingredients ahead for a quick weeknight dinner; invite friends over for a party and each bring their favorite filling. Ingredients listed above will serve 6-8



Stone Soup Story has slight variations based on culture and time – weary travelers, returning soldiers; a stone, an axe, a nail; stingy town folk, curious town folk, friendly and generous town folk.



Here is my favorite version. Weary travelers arrived at a town and stopped to ask for food. Each door they knocked on they were refused – ‘there is no food here.’ Since the town folk were stingy the travelers decided “since there was no food in this town we needed make soup for the town.” They called out “We are Master Cooks, and we’re going to make a magic soup for the town. Who would have a big pot we can use for the soup?” Curious, one person brings them a big pot to which the travelers added water and a magic “stone.” The master cooks described to the gather curious town folk how good this soup was going to be, but thought it would taste even better if it had a carrot. Did anyone have a carrot? One person steps forward with a carrot. This was good and would make the best soup. But it would be even better if it had an onion. One person steps forward with an onion. The process continues until the whole town got involved and brought ingredients to make the soup extra special. They also brought bowls and spoons, and cheese, and bread and milk – and the entire town had a glorious magical feast. What was the magic in the soup? Sharing.



Suggestions for filling ingredients – use your imagination and taste preferences, add to the list below.



Cheese (shredded, crumbles, cube): Cheddar, Mozzarella, Blue, Gruyere, Parmesan.



Meats: Diced ham, shredded rotarrasie chicken, cooked Italian sausage, cooked ground beef, meatballs, diced hard cooked eggs.



Grain: Cooked rice, fried rice, cooked quinoa, barley, wheat berries, ramen noodles.



Pasta: Cooked macaroni; broken spaghetti; rotilli; tortellini; gnocchi. May consider cooking it in the broth, or have pre-cooked for a customized soup bowl.



Vegetable (canned, fresh, frozen): Consider cooking or partially cooking vegetables. Peas (don’t cook); green beans, corn, zucchini, caramelized onions, steamed broccoli florets, cauliflower.



Legumes (canned or cooked): Kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, 3 beans salad.



Becky Low represents The Dairy Council of Utah/Nevada. For delicious dairy recipes and nutrition information go to
www.dairycouncilutnv.com or Facebook www.facebook.com/DairyUTNV.
For nutrition research go to www.nationaldairycouncil.org.