Summer soup

I love soup. But I generally seem to love soup most when its cold outside. It’s anything but cold outside now, and I have a dilemma.

I am planning to make a nice dinner for my SO sometime in the next couple of weeks – salad, soup, pasta, fish, and desert. I’m struggling with the soup course because most of my go-to soups tend to be hot/hearty in nature – not the type of soup I would want to eat when its 90 degrees outside. I am looking for recommendations for a good summer soup. I’ve never made vichyssoise, but I’m considering giving it a first try for this dinner. Any good recipes for vichyssoise or recommendations for a different summer-friendly soup? Any and all assistance is appreciated.

The obvious recommendation would be gazpacho or some variation of it. Take advantage of the great veggies currently in season - tomato, zucchini and cucumber.

I ate at Anteprima last week and they had a soup on their menu that sounded delicious - English pea with lemon and mascarpone (not sure if I'm remembering the description exactly).

This was on Gapers Block. instead of olive oil on top, you could use chili oil or paprika oil for some color and spice.
http://gapersblock.com/drivethru/2007/07/10/milanese_zucchini_soup_warm_or/#more

I love cucumber soup in the summer and I used to rely on a Moosewood Cookbook recipe for cold cucumber soup (made with cucumber, yogurt, herbs, and ice). But now my new favorite is Cucumber Soup with Avocado-Wasabi Cream. It is extremely simple to prepare, but seems a little glamorous and tastes fantastic:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recip ... ews/105207

The first two soups that come to mind have already been mentioned: gazpacho (if tomatoes have arrived) and a cucumber-yogurt soup.

Another one you might try is a cold beet soup.

Basically, you can make a simple soup by pureeing (with water, stock, etc.) whatever is in season. Add additional liquid to make it the consistency you're after. Then add a few ingredients to jazz it up a little bit.

Finally, for something really different you can make a fruit soup.

For more ideas, you might pull up the menus at a few restaurants to see what they are serving. I like to check out Charlie Trotter's, North Pond, and Chez Panisse, but there are a lot of places that constantly update their menu based on what's fresh.

I often make vichyssoisein the summer, but I have to say I generally prefer the warmer, chunkier winter version. Of the cold soups, it does have the advantage of being heartier because of the potatoes. Here is my mother's wonderful gazpacho, which is a traditional style now out of favor for no good reason. (traditional in the sense that it is a blended bread soup, not a chopped veggie soup)

Abuelita Elena's Gazpacho

2 medium cucumbers
5 medium size tomatoes (you really need perfect summer tomatoes)
1 medium onion
1 medium green bell pepper
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
4 cups coarsley chopped crustless french bread
4 cups cold water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp tomato paste (I believe this isn't needed if your tomatoes are really ripe)

Peel the cucumbers and tomatoes, coarsely chop the 1st 4 ingredients. Pour all ingredients in a large container. Working with 2 cups at a time, blend in a blender at high speed until everything is fully blended and smooth. (I would taste here, adjust seasonings and add tomato paste and vinegar as necessary) Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Garnish with additional chopped onion, cucumber and green pepper, along with croutons and chopped hard boiled egg. (If I'm reading it correctly, this makes 16 cups)

I've always wanted to try the other traditional white gazpacho based on the same bread/EVOO/seasonings, but with almonds and grapes as the flavoring.

I made 2 enjoyable cold soups using seasonal ingredients in the last 2 weeks. First, a vichyssoise which couldn't be simpler: spring potatoes and french shallots, both from Nichols Farm - maybe about twice as much potato as shallot. Seasoned with salt and white pepper, while sauteeing in butter for a few minutes, then added chicken stock and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Pureed in blender and strained, then added whole milk until it was the consistency I wanted, and refrigerated overnight. Delicious for several days.

The second was a cold soup with Michigan sour cherries and black pepper. This was even easier. Just pureed about 3 cups of sour cherries with a ton of black pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and maybe 3/4 cup of simple syrup. Dinner guests raved about it, and I give all the credit to how delicious those fresh sour cherries were.

Just had a really nice cold soup last night at Cafe Matou. It was lentil, thin and brothy, and pureed until very smooth, with creme fraiche and slivered mint. Quite tasty.

Today's Tribune Good Eating section has a recipe for chilled avocado soup

http://www.soupsong.com/index.html

This was one of the prize winners at an office potluck some years ago, at least partly because I campaigned for it. I really like it, but some of our co-workers were alarmed at the idea of cold soup to begin with, especially with things like buttermilk in it.

M.F.K. Fisher also has a great recipe for a cold buttermilk soup with shrimp in How to Cook a Wolf.

James W. Crooker's* chilled cucumber and yogurt soup

6 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
6 stems fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
4 to 5 sprigs fresh dill, coarsely chopped
Small bunch fresh chives, coarsely chopped
Small bunch fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 cups buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
1 cup plain yogurt
3 to 4 cups chicken stock
8 to 10 red radishes, finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Set aside a third of the diced cucumber. Combine the remaining cucumber, mint, dill, chives, parsley and garlic in a food processor with the buttermilk, sour cream and yogurt. Process till smooth, in batches if necessary.

Transfer to a large pot or tureen. Slowly stir in the chicken stock, adding more or less for desired consistency.

Stir in the the reserved cucumber, the radishes and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill overnight. 8 to 10 servings.

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* The office no longer exists and Crooker has for some years been sommelier at Le Titi de Paris.

I was in the mood for soup this past weekend.

My new favorite soup, which I made for the first time on Saturday, is this Summer-Squash Soup with Parsley Mint Pistou. I loved the pale marigold color of the squash soup, which was super simple and wonderfully creamy. I'll soon make that again. The pistou put it over the top--surprising and extra soothing against the summer squash.

I also made:

Kennyz wrote:The second was a cold soup with Michigan sour cherries and black pepper. This was even easier. Just pureed about 3 cups of sour cherries with a ton of black pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and maybe 3/4 cup of simple syrup. Dinner guests raved about it, and I give all the credit to how delicious those fresh sour cherries were.

Thanks for this, Kenny. It never would have occurred to me--another gorgeous, incredible soup. I was too eager to eat; next time I'll take pictures!

Every Summer my sister waits for my Cold Beet Soup. It's realy delish, good for you, and SUPER easy to make. It's even a hit with friends that don't care for beets too much:

Cold Beet Soup:

1 can Sliced Beets
1 can beef broth (14 oz)
1 can water (14 oz)
6 sliced (or diced) boiled egg whites
1 medium sliced cucumber (jullienne is best)
1/2 c. chopped green onion
1/4 c. chopped fresh dill
1-2 tbs white vinegar
1/3 pint sour cream (it's better if you DON'T use low fat)
salt to taste.

Mix all ingredients and serve chilled.

It's a gorgeous bright pink color, and so yummy. This makes about 10 servings, but it won't last long!

Daisy11 wrote:The obvious recommendation would be gazpacho or some variation of it. Take advantage of the great veggies currently in season - tomato, zucchini and cucumber..

Personally, for a small group, I like to make a gazpacho - and serve it inside a green pepper. You cut the pepper's top off, clean out the seeds. Prior to service, you pour the chilled soup in and cover with the pepper top.

Your guests sit there and wonder what you are doing when they are served a whole green pepper.

I'm a big fan of cilantro, so I make a kind of green gazpacho that is essentially a pesto made with cilantro and thinned with ice water, and then decorated with the usual chopped cucumber, tomato, etc. that you'd put on red gazpacho.

And while most of us know red gazpacho, the original gazpachos were white, thickened with bread and crushed almonds (back before tomatoes had reached the Old World). Here's my version of one of those gazpachos, this one from Málaga, in southern Spain.

Ajo Blanco con Uvas
(Garlic and Almond Soup with Grapes)

5 oz. blanched almonds
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
3 cups ice water
3 dozen seedless green grapes

Place the almonds and garlic in a food processor and process until they are finely chopped. (Do not over-process, or the oil will separate out of the almonds.) Add the bread crumbs, salt, and 1 cup of water, and process until mixture is a fine paste. With the food processor running, add the oil in a thin stream. Next, gradually add the vinegar and as much of the remaining ice water as your food processor can comfortably accommodate. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in any remaining ice water.

Adjust salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or (even better) overnight. Peel grapes (not absolutely required, but they float more easily if peeled). Float the grapes in the soup just before serving, or serve soup and float grapes in the individual bowls. Alternatively to using grapes, you could substitute 1 cup of chopped apple. Serves 4–6.

In another, similar, high-stakes soup situation, I was cooking for a sick friend and realized that a pureed, flavorful soupthat could be served hot or cold would be ideal.

Vichysoisse came to mind immediately - but I wanted a bit more punch, so I combined two recipes and came up with this:

2 tbsp butter
5 large leeks, white parts only
1 large shallot
4 large potatoes
4 cups vegetable stock (at this point, I used boxed)
1 cup fresh picked crabmeat
Salt and pepper to taste
Heavy cream to taste
Chives and watercress leaves for garnish

Slice the leeks and shallots thinly, reserving about three tablespoons of very tender leeks, melt the butter and saute the leek and shallots on low heat until translucent. Peel and dice the potatoes, reserving about two tablespoons, add them to the saute for a minute or two, then add the stock. Simmer until potatoes are tender, then blend with a stick blender until smooth. Mince the reserved potatoes and leeks finely and add to the simmering puree along with the crabmeat (I like a little texture.) Simmer for about 5 minutes until the minced vegetables and crabmeat are thoroughly cooked. Cool, add salt and pepper, taste for seasoning, and add cream - I added about 1/2 cup. If serving chilled, garnish with chives and watercress.

I also found this curried Carrot Soup with Cucumber Pistachio Relish with cucumber-pistachio relish that can be eaten hot or cold, which is probably the best and heartiest cold soup I've ever made. I found that after it cooked, it still needed a little something, so I added leftover charred onions, red peppers, and a bit of too-spring-oniony-tomato salsa (we'd made fajitas) as I was pureeing - they helped significantly. Don't miss the relish if you eat the soup cold (I forgot the ginger, didn't miss it) - the play between the sweet carrot, the bit of spice, the refreshing cucumber and the hit of mint is incredible.