Christmas Dinner and What Kind of Soup to Serve?

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Jasper White's Clam Chowder gets my vote. It's terrific and can be made ahead .JUst add the cream or half and half when you have heated it up.
 
In my family we usually start with spaghetti in tuna fish and tomato sauce but i think that a lentils soup can be a good idea too...
 
I think with everything else on the menu that the split pea soup would be a great idea
 
I'm a huge fan of split pea soup, but never consider it to be a light soup. Between the chunks of ham, carrots, celery and croutons, it's more like a meal, to me.

There are a few soups I serve for special dinners during the winter months. Those are: pumpkin, shrimp or lobster bisque, italian wedding soup, or tortellini en brodo. From that list, the tortellini en brodo is easily the lightest soup.
 
This might sound a bit nuts but what about kapusta? Sauerkraut soup? (Charlie D...you got a recipe here?)

I think the sour taste with the ham would be delish. Just my two cents though.

The best I can remember, Dad would chop up side salt pork (diced) and fry it a bit, then he would fry the sauerkraut a bit and there would inevitably be some butter in there. Then he would add it to some homemade broth, either chicken or beef. (I preferred the chicken myself) Sometimes he would add white beans and sometimes not. Also...something to occasionally make it a bit creamy?
Cottage cheese perhaps?

I'm off to see if I can find a recipe for you.
We make our kapusta / sauerkraut soup from onions fried in lard, add and brown a little flour, then add sauerkraut juice, soaked dried mushrooms, the strained water from the mushrooms and homemade egg barley.
Since the kraut juice is high in sodium I couldn't recommend it if the main course were also high in sodium. We usually have roast beef.
 
sc, it's super easy.

just cut off the root end of a large head of escarole so the leaves all seperate easily, then wash well to remove any sand or dirt. i find that soaking the seperated leaves in a sink full of cold water works well for this. remove leaves from sink (you don't have to dry them since they're going into soup), and cut down the side of each stem to remove it. layer a few of the stemmed leaves on top of each other, and chop into small strips.

next, peel, seperate, and mince a half of a head of garlic. i like my garlic in bigger pieces, so i usually slice each clove lengthwise in halfs or thirds, but many people prefer it minced. also, i like to use the whole head, but some are put off by that much. :huh:

in a stock pot over medium heat, add 2 tbsps of evoo and a medium diced onion. when the edges of the onion just begin to brown, then add the garlic. cook for a minute until the garlic just begins to toast. be careful if it's minced, as it will burn more easily than if sliced.

add the chopped escarole and toss it with the onion, garlic, and oil to wilt, then add 4 cans of chicken stock, and 2 cans of rinsed cannelini beans. adjust the amount of liquid with some water if necessary.

bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes or so until you're ready to serve.

when you ladel the soup into bowls, shave a healthy amout of a good pecorino romano, locatelli, or grana padano cheese over each bowl, and hit it with a pinch of freshly chopped parsley. i like the cheese shaved rather than grated, but you could do either.

and that's it! zuppa di 'scarole e fagiole.

i'm gonna make this tonight so i'll try to post more accurate measurements, such as cups an ounces by the weekend. :chef:
 
Sounds great BT! SC will have to leave the onions out tho! I'm saving this one for me to try along with a few others I have seen on here.
 
Since the meal has a tendency to be heavy, and your point is to lighten it up, I'd go with a simple broth or stock. Roasted vegetable broth is yummmy and delicious, but chicken or beef stock would be good as well. I love pea, bean and lentil soups, but to me they are meals in themselves, not a course in a larger meal. Give me a cup of pea soup, and that's all she wrote, I'm done for the day.
 
Thanks, BT for the recipe. It might just work. Sattie, the onions might be OK. I will have to ask my brother's wife. She likes onions they just don't like her!! :sick: But if they are sauteed enough to bring out the sugars and cut some of the strong onion intenseness (is that a word?) she might be able to eat them.
 
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