Consomé Navideño

The story

Consomé navideño, a clear festive soup often garnished with croquettes, diced egg, or thin noodles, traditionally opens the long sequence of dishes at Nochebuena, the Spanish Christmas Eve that often unfolds in several stages over the whole evening and night. The clarity of the soup—achieved by long, gentle simmering of meat and vegetables and careful straining—is considered a mark of culinary skill, because a cloudy or muddled broth gives away a lack of patience in its making. Garnishes such as small croquettes or cubes of cooked egg are added just before serving, so the soup stays hot and pleasing to the eye. Consomé navideño is often served in finer dishes than everyday soups, underscoring the solemnity of the moment. For Spanish families in the diaspora, making a true clear consommé takes more time and patience than one would expect of “just soup,” but it is that very attention to detail that makes it a fitting opening to a long holiday dinner.