Tired, sluggish and hungover from toasting? Nobody wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on New Year’s Day. Those who made provisions in the old year have an advantage. Preferably with a miracle soup.
The top rule on hungover days is probably the following: liquid, liquid, liquid. This also applies to New Year’s Day, when the head is booming from the champagne and the late bedtime has drawn deep circles under the eyes on the face.
A pot of pre-cooked soup can then be pure happiness – and not just because it contributes to the body’s fluid balance. “Soups are warm, fill you up, but are not that much at the same time. And in the best case, they taste like grandma’s,” enthuses food blogger Thyra from the suppen.blog.
In addition: When warmed up, soups and stews are at least twice as aromatic. So if you already cooked in advance in the old year, you only have to roll off the sofa for a moment to turn on the stove.
A hearty meal on New Year’s Eve is not always recommended
What makes a good soup for New Years Day? Many people would probably answer on the gut: “It should be hearty.” No wonder: After all, on hangover days it is also important to bring minerals back into the body – salty dishes can help. The Soljanka, for example, which already has saltiness in its name with the word “Sol”, has the reputation of being a hangover meal.
The Eastern European stew is based on a strong meat or fish broth in which, among other things, smoked meat, sausages, pickles, sauerkraut and capers are cooked. The stew is served with a generous dollop of sour cream. But: For digestion, lighter soups with lots of vegetables may be the better choice. “After all, you did a good job of filling over the holidays,” says Matthias F. Mangold, who works as a gourmet journalist and runs a cooking school.
Special twist: vegetable noodles and mango topping
For example, anyone who has prepared a beetroot soup can get a large load of vegetables. Matthias F. Mangold first cooks beetroot in a stock of your choice and then purees it with some diced mango and ginger. The soup is served with a fruity topping, for which he mixes crème fraîche, the remaining mango and lemon juice to a cream.
“This soup tastes earthy, fruity and, thanks to the ginger, slightly spicy,” describes Mangold. The only challenge: You shouldn’t be too sleepy while eating – not that a spoon of the gaudy soup accidentally lands on your beloved cuddly sweater.
Food blogger Thyra likes to use her frozen stocks of chicken broth at the turn of the year. “If you’re hungover, a vegetable and noodle soup with lemon is especially good,” she says. For this she brings zucchini or carrots with a spiral cutter in spaghetti form and then serves them with lots of lemon in chicken broth. A light meal – in preparation as well as in the stomach afterwards.
Thai soups clear your head
It is also clever to try to put the hangover on the run during the New Year’s Eve party. Chicken broth can also be used here. “I like to serve a after-midnight soup,” says Mangold. In his experience, a Tom Kha Gai, a Thai soup with chicken, fish sauce, lime, ginger and chili is particularly suitable.
“The different flavors, the combination of spicy, salty and sour – that really clears your head,” says Mangold. Seafood fans can use shrimp instead of chicken: the name of the soup is then a little different: Tom Kha Gung. The effect is likely to be very similar.
By the way: If you want to pre-cook clear soups, it is advisable to prepare the components separately. “Anything that can be snipped can be done the day before,” says Thyra. Shortly before eating, the broth with spices is then put on and the deposits are cooked.
Even the red cabbage leftovers go into the soup
And what if, with all the party preparations on New Year’s Eve, there was too little time to prepare for the next day? Even then, nobody has to go without a ready-made soup, which at best can also calm the hangover. “Soups are perfect for recycling leftovers,” says food blogger Thyra. And after all the feasting of the past few holidays, they are likely to have accumulated in the fridge in abundance.
“If there is leftover meat from the New Year’s Eve fondue, you can simply serve it in broth,” says Thyra. Leftover vegetables can also be cooked in broth – you won’t even notice that the carrots are a bit wrinkled or the broccoli is a bit dry.
Even the hearty red cabbage that might be left in the fridge or freezer from Christmas can be made into a creamy soup, as food blogger Thyra suggests. To do this, she spices the warmed up red cabbage again vigorously before pureing it with cream and ginger.
Cookbook author Mangold has another suggestion: If you still have a can of tomatoes on the shelf, you can simmer a quick tomato soup. Sauté the garlic and onions, stir in a little tomato paste, deglaze with the vegetable stock and the canned tomatoes.
If you want to check out the myth “Alcohol helps against hangovers” for yourself, round off the soup – as Mangold suggests – with a little gin. Everyone else can enjoy the food topped with a little grated orange peel.