Stone Soup Instead of BBQ?
Grilling, smoking, barbecuing… The range of options for preparing our food outdoors continues to expand. Not only with new techniques; often with ancient ones instead. Such as the method used to make caldo de piedra, stone soup, from south-western Mexico.
Every people has its own way of handling fire. For example, in Hawaii, people dig a hole in the ground, build a fire in it and place, for example, a whole pig on top, after which the hole is covered again. The pig cooks for hours in this earth oven during such a luau party before it is eaten.
Curious about the effect of herbs on the taste of wine?
Stone soup
Along the riverbanks in the state of Oaxaca in south-western Mexico, plenty of fresh fish and freshwater prawns are caught. The obvious thing to do would be to cook them over a fire. Instead, the Chinantec people place river stones in the fire for several hours, until they are scorching hot inside and out.
Using kitchen tongs, the hot stone is placed in the fish soup.
Meanwhile, the fishermen divide the freshly caught raw fish and prawns, along with water, tomatoes, onions, lime and coriander among a number of bowls made from hollowed-out gourds. The stones are then removed from the fire with long tongs and placed in the bowls. Thanks to the hot stones, the soup immediately starts bubbling and is cooked within a few minutes. This soup is therefore called caldo de piedra, stone soup.
Ultra-fresh fish soup
The advantage of cooking this way at lightning speed is that all the juices and flavors of the fresh fish and prawns end up in the soup. And none of the ingredients are overcooked; they remain perfectly al dente. The result is an ultra-fresh fish soup.
So if you go to Mexico and want to eat something other than tacos or burritos: this soup is still made and shared with visitors along the banks of the Papaloapan River. Otherwise, try experimenting in your own garden or on your balcony. With some stones, a long pair of kitchen tongs and fresh fish, you can get a long way.
