Soup n something?
October 8, 2021 8:47 AM Subscribe
What would you serve with cream of crab soup?
I'm not a huge fan of creamy soups, but the local place that used to serve my boyfriend's favorite creamy crab soup on Fridays hasn't been doing so lately, on account of covid related reduction in business and/or supply chain snafus making it too expensive.
So I'm going to be making it at home for us, but I'd like to serve something else, because I'll probably eat about a half cup of soup and lean heavily on that something else.
He usually gets the soup as a starter for a cheeseburger, but creamy soup plus burger sounds way too heavy for me. I could do a salad, which would be my inclination, but he's not likely to eat the salad.
Perhaps some clever mefite has the perfect soup n something combo idea to please us both?
(If nothing inspires me, rest assured, I will make something I like and he will be perfectly happy with just the soup, so no need to tell me it's ok to please myself here.)
I'm not a huge fan of creamy soups, but the local place that used to serve my boyfriend's favorite creamy crab soup on Fridays hasn't been doing so lately, on account of covid related reduction in business and/or supply chain snafus making it too expensive.
So I'm going to be making it at home for us, but I'd like to serve something else, because I'll probably eat about a half cup of soup and lean heavily on that something else.
He usually gets the soup as a starter for a cheeseburger, but creamy soup plus burger sounds way too heavy for me. I could do a salad, which would be my inclination, but he's not likely to eat the salad.
Perhaps some clever mefite has the perfect soup n something combo idea to please us both?
(If nothing inspires me, rest assured, I will make something I like and he will be perfectly happy with just the soup, so no need to tell me it's ok to please myself here.)
Cream of crab is rich and heavy so how about serving it with something light, bright and tangy like a caprese salad? I know you said he wouldn't eat the salad but c'mon, we're talking about giant hunks of mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinegar with some tomatoes here. Kind of a summer-y meal for the fall but I think it would all pair nicely!
Also nothing wrong with calling your soup a meal and just serving it with a big toasted cut of a high quality baguette on the side for sopping up. Or maybe a fancy grilled cheese of some kind, with havarti or gruyere and a tomato or apple slices to give it some character.
posted by windbox at 8:59 AM on October 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Also nothing wrong with calling your soup a meal and just serving it with a big toasted cut of a high quality baguette on the side for sopping up. Or maybe a fancy grilled cheese of some kind, with havarti or gruyere and a tomato or apple slices to give it some character.
posted by windbox at 8:59 AM on October 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
I would also go with something light, bright and tangy as windbox said, but I might make it a flatbread -- topped with something like the caprese salad suggested above, or something like this. beets and arugula flatbread. Any topping with some veggies and vinegar, with or without a sharp sprinkle of cheese.
posted by nantucket at 9:04 AM on October 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by nantucket at 9:04 AM on October 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Yeah, crusty buttery bread would be my choice. A salad just can't compete with such a decadent soup, unless you eat it beforehand as a sort of penace.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:16 AM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:16 AM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Bruschetta, perhaps? My family always served soup as the meal with good bread on the side... bruschetta covers the bread and also the "bright, tangy" note you might want to offset the heavy creaminess of the soup.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 9:17 AM on October 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 9:17 AM on October 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
Best answer: To balance the richness of the soup: a fruit and veg plate (grapes, strawberries, apple, and steamed broccoli or asparagus).
For dipping: crackers, crusty bread, or grilled ham and cheese (cut diagonally).
posted by veneer at 9:41 AM on October 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
For dipping: crackers, crusty bread, or grilled ham and cheese (cut diagonally).
posted by veneer at 9:41 AM on October 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I don’t know if your foodways skew Southern, but cream of crab soup goes excellently with cornbread and collard greens, or with a field pea salad (no greens, so this has a chance with salad haters).
posted by musicinmybrain at 10:07 AM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by musicinmybrain at 10:07 AM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I was thinking flatbread as well, but I wonder if it would be even better to lean in to the winteryness of a creamy seafood soup and make an autumnal casserole - butternut squash and kale, cornbread dressing or something like this chicken stuffing bake, or maybe go tomato-y with a pasta bake that's light on cheese or a deconstructed stuffed cabbage - so that each of you can easily serve yourselves the appropriate amount. Another option would be quiche or a similar eggy casserole.
The upside of a casserole option is that they're generally very freezable in portions, which means one large one could accompany multiple weeks of Soupy Fridays.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:53 AM on October 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
The upside of a casserole option is that they're generally very freezable in portions, which means one large one could accompany multiple weeks of Soupy Fridays.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:53 AM on October 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
This might be an excellent occasion for a duck-breast salad:
Duck breast (one per person), roasted or grilled, or pan fried in its own fat, should be still pink inside. Make a diamond pattern through the fat on the breast before cooking.
Sturdy lettuce leaves, like gem lettuce and/or rucola or whatever you have
An apple per person, diced or sliced
An orange for every two servings, diced or sliced
Croutons
A classic vinaigrette that includes the juices from roasting the duck breast
Using your hands, combine the vegetable elements, the croutons and the vinaigrette, arrange artfully, top with thin slices of duck. Admire. Eat.
posted by mumimor at 11:55 AM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Duck breast (one per person), roasted or grilled, or pan fried in its own fat, should be still pink inside. Make a diamond pattern through the fat on the breast before cooking.
Sturdy lettuce leaves, like gem lettuce and/or rucola or whatever you have
An apple per person, diced or sliced
An orange for every two servings, diced or sliced
Croutons
A classic vinaigrette that includes the juices from roasting the duck breast
Using your hands, combine the vegetable elements, the croutons and the vinaigrette, arrange artfully, top with thin slices of duck. Admire. Eat.
posted by mumimor at 11:55 AM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
I would probably keep with the seafood theme and do seared shrimp skewers with tomatoes and pearl onions and corn on the cob, or maybe pan fry some fillets and serve them on top of steamed spinach. Deglaze with some white wine, add garlic and capers for a pan sauce.
posted by ananci at 12:38 PM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ananci at 12:38 PM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Grilled cheese goes with all soup in my world. You can fancy it up with something other than American cheese, add tomatoes or bacon.
posted by maxg94 at 2:05 PM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by maxg94 at 2:05 PM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
In my part of the world, this pairs with cheddar cheese biscuits....
And, if you want; a salad dressed with pears and blue cheese.
posted by mightshould at 2:16 PM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
And, if you want; a salad dressed with pears and blue cheese.
posted by mightshould at 2:16 PM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Thinly sliced steak and arugula parmesan shavings salad.
posted by oflinkey at 3:11 PM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by oflinkey at 3:11 PM on October 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Flatbread with different toppings. Plain flatbread for dipping in the soup, and then caramelized onions, roasted veggies and herbs for you, onions herbs and maybe sausage crumbles for him. You could go more or less pizza-esque with this as you like - it could be fun to do the thing where you set out a bunch of topping options in little bowls with halves of flatbread on a baking sheet and then the two of you assemble whatever you want for yourselves before toasting them.
posted by Mizu at 11:03 PM on October 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Mizu at 11:03 PM on October 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks all!
Field pea salad is genius (he still won't eat that, but hoppin john and crab soup sounds great to me). I think just a big pile of steamed green veg with some lemon is the way I'll play it this week.
That said, some of these other ideas are going to be other dinners in the next few weeks. Y'all have excellent taste.
posted by the primroses were over at 8:50 AM on October 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
Field pea salad is genius (he still won't eat that, but hoppin john and crab soup sounds great to me). I think just a big pile of steamed green veg with some lemon is the way I'll play it this week.
That said, some of these other ideas are going to be other dinners in the next few weeks. Y'all have excellent taste.
posted by the primroses were over at 8:50 AM on October 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:56 AM on October 8, 2021 [1 favorite]