Recipe
1940s Victory Garden Vegetable Soup
A clear, flexible soup built from garden vegetables and a simple stock: home-front cooking from the victory garden.
Context
Victory gardens fed the pot when meat and canned goods were limited.
Period guidance stressed using what was in season and wasting nothing. A ham bone or leftover roast juices deepened the broth, but an all-vegetable version was common. Salt at the end so garden produce stays bright.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter, oil, or bacon drippings
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 potatoes, diced
- 1 cup green beans or cabbage, chopped
- 1 cup canned or fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 6 cups water or light stock
- 1 bay leaf
- to taste salt, pepper, and parsley
Instructions
- Warm fat in a large pot. Soften onion, carrot, and celery 5 minutes.
- Add potatoes, beans or cabbage, tomatoes, stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer.
- Cook 25 to 35 minutes until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf.
- Season and finish with chopped parsley. Serve with bread or cornmeal muffins.