Recipes for Health
Martha Rose Shulman on healthful cooking.
I love the idea of soup as part of the Thanksgiving meal. There are so many fall vegetables that make delicious, light purées, and that you might want to include in your Thanksgiving menu. But the prospect of a first course with the additional bowls and soup spoons to place and clear, when the main course and trimmings and dessert are the real focus of this meal, gives me pause.
But this year I found a solution, and it solves not just the soup conundrum but also the problem of what to serve before the meal, when guests and family are trickling in, maybe some people are watching football, and you need and want to serve something good without filling people up too much. I will be serving soup shots in demitasse espresso cups. They won’t require spoons, as four of the choices are purées and one is a consommé.
I made creamy, comforting puréed soups (with no cream) with humble vegetables that you can find in the supermarket (celeriac may be the exception, but my local Iranian supermarket always has it): carrot and parsnip;
mushroom; celeriac, potato and apple; and turnip, potato and leek. The other is a delicious mushroom consommé. They are all nourishing and light, leaving plenty of room for the rest of the meal. Once Thanksgiving
is past, think of these soups as light meals in themselves; they will come in handy as you look for ways to shrink your calorie intake during the holiday season and after.
Parsnip and Carrot Soup With Tarragon: A fragrant soup that lets the flavor of the vegetables shine through.
Dried Porcini Consommé: A refreshing and light soup that can be an appetizer or full first course.
Puréed Mushroom Soup: This soup is made without cream, but still tastes very rich.
Celeriac, Potato, Leek and Apple Soup: A sweet and savory mixture that works well as a soup.
Turnip, Leek and Potato Soup: A simple French soup that works well regardless of which vegetable gets the emphasis.