Acadian
All Saints' Day Soup
Made Every November 1st for Generations
Dr. Don J. Landry — The Cuisine of Acadia via acadian.orgMade every year on November 1st — All Saints' Day (La Toussaint) — this simple, beautiful vegetable soup is one of the oldest Acadian culinary traditions. It marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, a moment of both remembrance and gratitude.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts cold water
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small head cabbage, shredded
- 2 cups chopped leeks or green onions
- 2 cups diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrots
Optional
- 1 beef shank or piece of soup meat
Instructions
- If using beef shank, place it in the 2 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for approximately 30 minutes before adding any vegetables.
- Add the shredded cabbage, chopped leeks or green onions, diced celery, diced carrots, bay leaf, salt, and pepper to the pot.
- Bring the pot to a boil and cook for approximately 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender but still have some texture.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Remove the bay leaf (and the shank bone if used — shred any meat back into the pot). Serve hot.
✦ Kitchen Notes
- La Toussaint and Acadian memory. All Saints' Day has deep meaning in Acadian Catholic culture — a day to visit cemeteries, pray, and gather as family.
- The end of the garden. This soup used whatever remained in the autumn garden — the last cabbages, celery gone a little tough, carrots pulled before the first hard freeze.
- Beef shank transforms it. The vegetable-only version is light and restorative. A beef shank builds the broth into something richer and more substantial.
- A soup of the ancestors. Acadian families have made exactly this dish on November 1st for generations. Recipes like this one are acts of cultural memory.