The one stop meal ………. and a little bit of culinary history

 I call it the one stop meal, but I suppose to be more accurate it should be the meal cooking on the cooker that everyone thinks needs a little something extra.

So today before even the birds were awake the base of the soup was prepared, put on the stove, and left to gently cook away.

Then a little past half eight the first person back in the kitchen checked the pot and decided the last three Brussel sprouts and a sliver of tired cabbage were not doing anything in the fridge and were shredded and added to the carrots, onion, green beans, assorted baby tomatoes and some borlotti beans.  

Not to be out done a little later last night’s left over baked potatoes were chopped up and thrown in.

Later still a random visitor checked the flavour and added a vegetable stock cube, stirred briefly, and went about their business.

Leaving the last contributor to break up some dried pasta, popping into to the pot before sitting down to a late breakfast.

And so the one stop meal was complete and did rather challenge that old warning “too many cooks ……”

There is of course a serious historical point which is long before designer soups and plates of interesting and expensive food, most families just put together what ever they had mixing leftovers with fresh produce, and if they were lucky the odd bit of meat.

So, my Italian mother-in-law just goes through the fridge, the freezer and the pantry and makes soups from what she judges to be on the cusp of being thrown away.

Leading to one wonderful soup which included mashed potato.

All of which leads me to think that many of those wonderful dishes from pizza, and lasagne to "purée de choux et pommes de terre" which appear in posh restaurants began life as leftovers.

Pause for comments, and recipes for using up what ever needs eating up.

Location; any kitchen

Picture;  One stop soup, and aubergines, 2022, from the collection of Andrew Simpson