Soulful soup helps to build communities
We do it instinctively. A hot bowl of soup is placed before us, and our hands move to cup the vessel as we breathe in its comfort. Ahhh. That feels better.
Portland, Ore., author Maggie Stuckey hoped to conjure that feeling of warmth and ease when she wrote her latest book, Soup Night: Recipes for Creating Community Around a Pot of Soup.
“When you pick up the book, your brain says, ‘This is a cookbook,’ and it is, and I’m very proud of that,” says Stuckey. “But in my heart, it’s more than that.
“It’s about using soup as a vehicle to break through barriers of isolation in the modern world.”
Stuckey first got the idea for her book from her brother’s family, who live on the urban east side of Portland. They casually mentioned something called soup night in their neighbourhood.
When Stuckey heard about the event, she asked to come as a guest. Immediately, she was hooked on the concept, which saw neighbours on one particular street gather once a month to share soup. Later, Stuckey discovered that soup nights were not unique to Portland, and began to research other U.S. cities in which soup was part of the social scene.
Eventually, she collected 99 recipes from some two dozen soup groups in cities from Texas to Illinois.
Though there is no single soup-night formula. In Portland, it goes like this. Once a month, on the same Sunday, neighbours along one block in the Irvington district gather at the home of someone who has signed up to host the party. The host sends out a reminder a week or so in advance, delivered in person. On the night itself, the host creates two big vats of soup — one vegetarian and one meat-based — to feed about 30 people.
Guests walk right in the door — nobody knocks — carrying their own bowl and spoon, so there is no mess for the host to clean up later. Some people may bring a bottle of wine, a pan of brownies or a loaf of home-baked bread, but it’s not required.
“On this block, there are a lot of differences — different races, ages and different educational and professional backgrounds, and wildly different political backgrounds,” says Stuckey, the author of seven other books on cooking and gardening.
“These are people that, in the normal course of life, wouldn’t make friends because they have a different world view. But something magic happens when people sit down at a table and eat together.”
Community gets created, which many people long for as electronic communication increasingly stands in for personal contact. Stuckey’s cookbook gives step-by-step instructions on getting your own soup group together, whether it be in a traditional, single-family home neighbourhood, a condominium, or among people with a common interest, perhaps empty nesters, or people who get up at 5 a.m. to get the kids to hockey practice.
“When you take your meal around soup, you get a multiplier effect,” says Stuckey. “Soup does something to calm people down. It’s amazing to watch.”
Here are Stuckey’s three tips for starting your own soup night.
1. Make it as easy as you can. Don’t ask people to RSVP, but make it at a specific time and day and keep it consistent.
2. Make eye contact when you invite people. Don’t do this by email. Invite people in person to help them understand what it is all about.
3. Let the logistics take care of themselves; they don’t matter. Some people buy a whole bunch of soup bowls from a thrift store, others use disposable soup bowls. Some supply bread with the soup, others take donations from neighbours. The important thing is to foster a sense of generosity.
Here’s a recipe for pasta soup from From Soup Night:
Italian Bean and Pasta Soup
Italians call this soup pasta fagioli. What makes it successful as a make-ahead main dish is that the pasta is cooked separately, and added each time you dip into the store of soup.
Serves 6 to 8. 1 lb (500 g) dried cranberry or pinto beans (about 3 cups or
750 mL), picked over and rinsed 10 cups (2.5 L) water
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (125 mL plus 25 mL) olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
2 medium onions, chopped
1 3/4 tsp (8 mL) salt
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp (5 mL) dried rosemary, crumbled
1/4 tsp (2 mL) black pepper
1 piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, roughly
2 by 3 in. (5 by 7.5 cm) (optional)
3/4 lb (375 g) dried small pasta
Bring the beans and water to a boil in a large heavy soup pot and boil for 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Do not drain the beans or discard the soaking liquid. Heat 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, and then add the onions and 1/2 tsp (2 mL) of the salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, parsley, rosemary and pepper, and saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Add the beans with their soaking liquid and the cheese rind (if you have one) and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender. This could take 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the age of your beans.
Add more water if necessary to keep the beans covered, and stir more frequently toward the end of cooking.
Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the oil and the remaining salt. Cool, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Remove and discard the cheese rind. Transfer the soup to a blender (careful, it’s hot) and coarsely purée until smooth, then return it to the pot. Or use an immersion blender and puree the soup right in the pot. Reheat over moderately low heat, stirring frequently. Add water to thin if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
While the soup is reheating, cook the pasta until al dente, and then drain in a colander and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the remaining 2 tbsp (25 mL) oil and pepper to taste. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with spoonfuls of pasta, and then drizzle with additional olive oil.