Soup is an essential part of our culinary heritage. It’s often during long winters, when we have runny noses, that we feel the need to warm up our taste buds with Grandma’s chicken broth. So what could be better than a good bowl of soupe à la poulette grasse? If you ever get the chance to try it, I hope you have a good sense of humor—because believe it or not, soupe à la poulette grasse doesn’t contain a single drop of chicken broth, let alone any pieces of poultry.

Here is the story of a soup that disappeared nearly a century ago. It was a long time ago...

I searched in vain for someone who had tasted soupe à la poulette grasse and could describe what it was really like, someone who had eaten it as a child… but without success. So today, I challenge you to find me a grandmother who once made it, or a grandfather who remembers eating it. But to do that, we must turn to the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean or Charlevoix regions of Quebec, for that’s where the tradition began…

Soupe à la poulette grasse was actually made from white goosefoot (Chenopodium album), a plant now considered a weed. After a harsh winter, when almost nothing was left to eat, people would wait for this plant to emerge and harvest its young leaves. The recipe was well-known in the region: a bit of fat or butter was melted in a pot, sometimes with an onion if any were left, then water or broth was added, along with salt, pepper, and barley if available. The floury leaves of the plant were chopped and added to the pot. Finally, it was left to boil until the barley softened.

Make no mistake—this was a dish of necessity, resorted to in times of hardship. Calling it soupe à la poulette grasse (literally "fat hen soup") was ironic, suggesting a rich, nourishing dish made with plump, juicy chicken, when in reality, it was just a humble survival meal. When winter dragged on, and the food stores were nearly empty, people had no choice but to eat what nature provided.
A testimony from 1920, by a local resident named Ovide Bouchard, illustrates this:

« “Israël Tremblay, the schoolmaster, stayed with me (…) with seven or eight children. Very poor, he survived on three meals a day of soupe à la poulette grasse.”

In May 1870, a great fire swept through the Saguenay region, devastating homes and leaving settlers in extreme poverty. Monsignor Victor Doré wrote in his History of Saguenay:

 «“It was heartbreaking to see entire families stranded on the shores, without clothes, without food, with nothing left to eat; no wood to rebuild their homes. Total destitution, extreme poverty! They had to eat soupe à la poulette grasse.” »

White goosefoot (Chenopodium album) is well known to gardeners. It’s an annual plant that grows in dense clusters, with seeds that germinate throughout the summer and fall.

« “Abundant and floury, its seeds have long been used as food for both humans and animals, especially poultry.” » 

Despite its reputation as a weed today, this plant has excellent nutritional value—it contains more iron and protein than spinach or cabbage, and more vitamin B1 and calcium than raw cabbage. It’s rich in plant fiber and vitamins A, B, and C. In fact, it was a key food source for prehistoric European peoples. Its seeds made up the last meal of the Tollund Man, a well-preserved Iron Age body found in Denmark in the 1950s. 

 Napoleon also relied on this plant to feed his armies when supplies were scarce, as noted by Monsignor Victor Tremblay in History of Saguenay. Later, white goosefoot was used as a famine food in Europe during World War II. Today, although often replaced by spinach, it is still eaten in Ireland and the Hebrides.

But Was It Any Good?

«“For me, no dish compares to soupe à la poulette grasse. When the snow starts melting, my mouth waters just thinking about it. A good bowl is a complete meal. You don’t need anything else until the next one.” »

Testimony in the Saguenayensia journal 1970. 

Today, white goosefoot is rarely consumed, perhaps because it is too closely associated with times of hardship, or simply because it has been forgotten and is now seen as just another weed. Brother Marie-Victorin, in his Flore Laurentienne, even described it as “the worst garden weed.” 

To revive this forgotten part of our history, here’s a modernized recipe for soupe à la poulette grasse. And if you have any stories, memories, or recipes related to this soup, feel free to share them! 

For more information :Forum de généalogie, d’histoire et de retrouvailles « Vos origines / Your roots »

Extrait du livre d’histoire du Saguenay, par Mgr Victor Tremblay : ​Tragédie du grand feu​

Recettes du Québec : Soupe à la poulette grasse, par Marc Veyrat