Some recipes blow us away with how deliciously simple they are. This vegetable soup was like that - everyone loved it and wanted seconds. We read the story of stone soup (in which some tired soldiers come to a poor village, and start heating a big soup pot with only water and a big stone in it. Curious townspeople come by and add a carrot, an onion, etc. and then everybody has a feast.)
Each child had something different to chop up and add to the pot. Recipes abound for this great vegetarian soup, but we made up our own delicious version and here it is:
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 medium ribs celery, trimmed and chopped
- 4 carrots, chopped
- one large thin-skinned potato, unpeeled (this is the “stone”)
- 2-3 small potatoes, chopped
- 1 rutabaga, peeled and chopped (can be challenging for kids)
- 1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
- 1-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 yellow squash, chopped
- 8-10 white or brown mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup corn kernels, if desired
- 2 cups cooked noodles or macaroni, if desired
- 1 can kidney beans, drained
- 6-8 cups vegetable stock, or chicken stock if preferred
- Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- Toppings: shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
- Croutons
Instructions
- Wash vegetables.
- Put the large potato into a pot of boiling water while chopping the rest of the vegetables.
- Peel the rutabaga and parsnip, and chop all veggies into medium-small pieces about the size of your little fingernail. Carrots can be cut into rounds.
- In a second pot or Dutch oven, saute the onion, garlic, carrots and other root veggies in the oil. Add the red pepper, zucchini and yellow squash, mushrooms, corn and beans and saute for a few minutes until they are softened. Add pasta if using.
- Pour in the vegetable stock, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add parsley.
- Add the boiled potato “stone” – which you can slice up when you serve the soup.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, and pass around the Parmesan and croutons.
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