Chilled Soups Are Perfect Starters For Summertime Meals

Wayne shares five sweet and savory recipes including adaptations of submissions from his facebook friends

There are still a number of warm summer nights ahead and plenty of time to dine outdoors.  I love to serve cold soups to my guests as a first course and have five different ones to share this week.  The gazpacho and blue raspberry are soups I’ve served many times.  The others are adaptations of recipes that I’ve gotten from my wonderful facebook friends.  One key thing to remember with serving chilled soups is to also chill the bowl beforehand.  It makes a nice presentation and keeps the soup nice and chilly.

Avocado Cucumber Soup
adapted from a recipe sent in by Kristen Allen
makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

1 lg Seedless Cucumber, peeled and cut into thirds
2 Avocados, peeled, reserve 1/2 of one and chop the rest
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 cu Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
1 tsp Fresh Tarragon, chopped
1 tsp Fresh Dill, chopped
2 Green Onions, chopped, including green parts
1 cu Greek Yogurt, plain
1 1/4 cu Water
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Lemon Pepper
Zest of 1 Lemon
A few sprigs of Parsley, for garnish

Method

Make a relish by chopping the 1/3 piece of seedless cucumber and 1/2 of one avocado into a medium dice.  Toss with the lemon zest and a pinch of dill and tarragon.  Seal in an airtight container and set aside.

Place remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Refrigerate covered at least 2 hours.  To serve, pour soup into individual chilled bowls and top with a spoonful of relish and a sprig of parsley

Gazpacho
makes about 6 cups

Ingredients

2 lg Tomatoes
1/2 cu Roasted Red Pepper
1 Seedless Cucumber
1 lg Yellow Onion
1 lg Green Pepper
3 cu V8 Juice (spicy or regular)
2 Jalapeño Peppers, seeded
1 sm Red Pepper
1/2 cu Light Olive Oil
1/2 cu Red Wine Vinegar
2 tbl Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Louisiana Hot Sauce
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Dill
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1 tbl Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 cu Chives, chopped for garnish
Sour Cream for garnish
Croutons for garnish

Method

Cut 1 tomato into large chunks.  Place tomato in a blender with 1 cup of tomato juice.  Add 1/2 each of the cucumber, onion and green pepper.  Add 1 jalapeño pepper.  Blend ingredients until smooth.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add remaining tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, Louisiana hot sauce, cumin, dill, chili powder, Worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  Stir together ingredients, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or longer. 

Meanwhile, chop the remaining 1/2 each of cucumber, onion and green pepper and place in separate small bowls or serving dishes.  Chop remaining jalapeño pepper and place it in a small bowl or serving dish.  Place chives, sour cream and croutons in serving dishes as well.

Serve gazpacho in individual chilled bowls and allow your guest to add any of the extras that they like.

If you’d like a simpler version, add all the ingredients except the sour cream and croutons into the gazpacho and serve with a dollop of sour cream and a few croutons sprinkled on top.

Blue Raspberry Soup
makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

1 pkg Fresh Raspberries, 6 oz container size
1 pint Fresh Blueberries
16 oz Red Raspberry Yogurt
3 tbl Mascarpone Cheese
1 tbl Lemon Juice
A Few Fresh Raspberries, Blueberries and Mint for garnish

Method

Place raspberries, yogurt and mascarpone cheese in a blender and blend until smooth.  If you aren’t a big fan of the seeds and blueberry pulp, you can strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Meanwhile, chill individual small serving bowls.  To serve, squeeze lemon juice into mixture and pour into serving bowls.  Top with a few raspberries and blueberries and garnish with fresh mint.

Strawberry Soup
adapted from a recipe sent in by Paula Howland Cree
makes about 5 cups

Ingredients

24 oz Fresh Strawberries, hulled, reserve two or three for garnish
8 oz Sour Cream
8 oz Mascarpone Cheese
1 oz Vanilla Extract
3 tbl Powdered Sugar
1 tbl Grenadine Syrup
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Fresh Mint, optional, for garnish

Method

Put strawberries (except the two or three reserved ones), sour cream, mascarpone cheese and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and continue to mix until well blended.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Serve in chilled bowls topped with thinly sliced strawberries and a sprig of fresh mint.

Roasted Corn Soup
makes about 6 cups

Ingredients

4 Ears of Fresh Sweet Corn
1 lg Yellow Onion
1 tbl Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic, smashed and minced
3 cu Chicken Broth
1 Yellow Pepper, seeded and diced
1 med Potato, peeled and diced
1/4 cu Fresh Cilantro
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

Relish

2 Ears of Sweet Corn
1 med Tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 tsp Fresh Rosemary, finely minced

Method

Stand each of the 4 ears of corn on its end and, using a sharp knife, cut the kernals away from the cob.  Set corn aside.

Saute onion, garlic and half of yellow pepper in a pot over medium heat until tender.  Add potato half of the corn, cilantro and broth and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and blend in small batches being careful to not overfill the blender and risk spilling the hot mixture.  Return mixture to the pot over medium.  Add remaining corn kernals and yellow pepper and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  This soup can be served hot or cold.  Thin the soup with a bit more stock if necessary.

To serve, rub a tiny bit of olive oil on the two remaining ears of corn.  Roast them on a grill or under a broiler until they have a light char.  Remove from the heat and cut the kernals away from the cob.  Mix with the tomatoes and rosemary and top individual serving bowls of the soup.

Thanks to all my Facebook friends for their recipes and suggestions.  If you have any questions or comments, please send me an email at wayne@waynesweekend.com or follow me on Facebook.

 

Contact Us