The Simplest Soup- Holidays are for Cabbages, and for Kings, and Queens.

A slimming dish of nostalgia, and thrift.

παν μέτρον άριστον ("All things in moderation") has to be among the least inspiring pieces of wisdom from the ancient world. November was so gray- such a bland compromise between light and dark- one woke in the morning longing for true darkness in the absence of true light. Happily, night fell early- black velvet and the warm glow of bright lights. A useful metaphor for holiday planning? Yes- a month of moderation offers no feasting, and no sober restraint, and we need definitely both.

The Greek Holiday season doesn't start right after Thanksgiving, but early in December. For an official date, let's say the name day for Nicholas- December 6th. It runs clear through to January 6th, the επιφανεια (epiphaneia- baptism of the waters), and there's another handful of name days in between. So this is the perfect time to organize the month of festivity.

This couch pillow basically sums up the rhythm I mean-
 a spiral of simplicity and opulent excess.

What really makes you, your family, and your friends truly happy? My rough draft included excess- culinary, sartorial, and domestic bling for the holidays- but lavishness has no impact without the foil of modest living. It also revealed that true happiness covers the superficial as well as the deep- vanity (unremitting excess rarely helps anyone look one's best), and generosity. Add to this finance- if you're stressed about money, you're not having any fun. 

Cabbage soup is all of these good things. Bold claims for such a humble dish, true. But there is some cost to upholding traditions, and a day of this perfect winter soup a couple of times a week helps to set aside some money for seasonal pleasures, not least of these the joy of charity. Moreover, such a virtuous soup sharpens your enjoyment of them. And no one ever got fat on it, satisfying though it is. As you see- apart from being itself absolutely delicious, the soup also enhances every other pleasure too!

Never mind the twenty 250 g packages of butter I have in the freezer-
 on the table today is this luminous hunk of restraint.

Ah- another key component of holidays is nostalgia. I made up this soup from my memory (the excellent authentic recipes- like this one- have pork) of the fabulous cabbage soup at Veselka in Manhattan, but even if you did not spend a lot of time on the lower east side growing up- or have never even eaten cabbage soup- it feels like home.

We'll need:

some olive oil (2-4 Tablespoons)

2 onions

a half bunch of parsley

a half bunch of dill

4 or 5 carrots

2 large tomatoes

half a large head of cabbage

2 cups sauerkraut*

Black peppercorns

a bay leaf

some whole allspice berries**

Wash the tomatoes well and grate them on the large holes of a box grater. Put the skins in a small pot. Wash the carrots well before you peel them, and put the peels in the pot along with the tomato skins. Strip the herbs from their stems and put the stems in the pot, along with the outer layers of the onions. Cover with a liter of water, and add a dozen peppercorns or so and a fat pinch of salt. Bring it to a quick boil as you prepare the vegetables- it makes a nice bright flavor base.

Cut the onion into thin slices and saute in the olive oil. Cut the carrots into thick segments of 1 cm (1/3 inch) and saute them along with the onion. Cut the cabbage however you wish- fine or chunky- and add it to the pot along with a generous pinch of salt, the bay leaf, and the allspice berries, covering to let it all steam a bit on low heat. Mince the parsley and dill (Cover with water in a bowl to rinse well. Squeeze hard and chop finely while it is compressed), and add the herbs and the grated tomatoes. If it's been at least ten minutes, the both is ready- strain it into the pot. Cover and simmer, and when the cabbage is almost tender, add the sauerkraut. The total cooking time should be just around 15-20  minutes- the carrots should still taste lively. Test for seasoning, adding a good grinding of black pepper.

You can serve this with strained yogurt***, which melts into it and makes the broth very creamy and filling. 

Sliced potatoes are a nice addition, but there are plenty of carbohydrates ahead this month, and this is a very tasty and satisfying way to not miss them.

Next time bling!

*This is the thing that makes it taste like you are in a Ukranian restaurant, as opposed to being on a strict diet.

** This too,

*** and this.