Our next task: fruit soup! We'll each find a recipe of our choosing, starring summer's bounty of fruit, and then share the results. I've never made a fruit soup before, so I'm looking forward to the challenge!
Ingredients:
6 to 8 soft to mushy peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into quarters
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves
Red bell pepper slices and peeled avocado slices, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Combine the peaches, cucumber, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of the water in a food processor; pulse to form a pureed soup. If the consistency seems too thick, add the remaining 1/4 cup water and pulse just to incorporate.
Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Just before serving, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as needed. Stir in the cilantro or parsley. Divide among individual bowls. Drizzle each portion with a little oil. Garnish with the bell pepper and avocado, if desired. Serve right away.
Cassie's version
I was a bit nervous that this would not turn out well, and I really didn't expect my husband to want to eat it (beyond politely agreeing to try it). It was, however, delicious! We both ate full bowls of it for dinner, and accompanied by a plate of arugula, cheese, crackers, and salami it was a perfect summer meal.
I peeled the peaches by scoring the bottoms and dropping them into just-boiled water. After sitting for a few minutes, I took them out and was able to slip off their skins quite easily. While I usually don't bother to peel fruit for baked desserts, I felt it was necessary for a blended soup so that it would not be too thick or chunky. I don't have a full-sized food processor, so I just used an immersion blender, and this worked fine. I did take care to press the garlic so that it would better integrate without a food processor, and I found that 3/4 cup of water was definitely called for to thin the soup to a desirable consistency.
The only other small changes I made were to use regular white wine vinegar, since that was what I had, and to use about a teaspoon more than is called for because I thought the sweetness of the peaches needed to be tempered a bit more after tasting it. I added a dash of cayenne to pep it up a bit, and added fresh cracked pepper after refrigerating it. I served it with ice cubes since I only refrigerated it for an hour (rather than the recommended two - we were ready for dinner!), and topped it with diced bell pepper, chopped cilantro, and another swirling of olive oil. Don't skip the final olive oil addition, as this really helps to make this a savory rather than a sweet soup. I decided to use the avocado for a pre-dinner guacamole instead of as a garnish, mostly because my husband prefers avocado on its own rather than as a topping, and it seemed a shame for him to miss out. An avowed tomato hater, he said that this soup tasted just like gazpacho but without the offending ingredient, and I took this as a compliment. I also thought it was clearly in the gazpacho category, particularly with the addition of the diced red pepper, but I definitely found it to be sweeter than the standard tomato variety.
If you find the savory-sweet combination appealing, and if you'd like to use fresh peaches in a creative way, please try this soup! It's very quick, once you peel the fruit, and it tastes and looks like a summer dish should - simple, cool, healthy, and colorful.
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
6 c. sliced peeled pears about 6)
2 c. chopped onions
2 c. sliced leeks, white and light green parts
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. curry powder
6 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. white wine
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Yogurt Garnish:
1/4 c. sliced green onions
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/3 c. plain yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste
Melt 5 Tbsp. of the butter in a large pot over med. high heat. Add pears, onions, leeks and garlic and saute for 2 min. Reduce heat to med. and and saute for 1 min. Sprinkle with the flour and curry powder and saute for 5 min. or until pears are soft. Gradually whisk in stock and wine, then simmer for 15 min., reducing heat if necessary, until soup is velvety and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, prepare the yogurt garnish by heating the butter in a small skillet over med. high heat, then adding the green onion and sauteing for 2 min.
Add honey and sesame oil and saute for 1 more min. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Use and immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot until it's smooth. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve topped with a dollop of the yogurt garnish.
Ann's Version
I made this soup about a month ago and apologize for how long it's taken me to post. The only cold soups I've actually made in the past are gazpacho (LOVE!) and vichyssoise (wished it were hot) and I had high hopes for this recipe because I love all the ingredients. I intended to make it through two batches of pears brought home from the grocery, both of which were overripe by the time I got around to actually making the soup. The overripe pears do make a delicious fruit crisp, by the way. With the third batch of pears I got down to it and followed the recipe pretty closely. The only ingredient I changed was using chives instead of green onions in the garnish because that's what I had on hand.
The soup was delicious as I cooked it and I had a hot bowl right after pureeing the pot. Really aromatic and tasty. I refrigerated it and next day had it for lunch cold and it was totally blah. What happened? So the following day for lunch I heated it up and it was wonderful again. I think the cold just deadens the aroma and makes the soup quite bland. The yogurt garnish is good on both hot and cold versions, but next time I think I'd leave out the honey or cut it way down as it seemed incongruously sweet.
I finished the soup and really liked it, but only when it was hot. Perhaps cold fruit soups are too smoothie-like for me, the rare person who finds smoothies strangely irritating.
CASSIE'S SOUP: Peach Gazpacho, from The Washington Post
Ingredients:
6 to 8 soft to mushy peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into quarters
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves
Red bell pepper slices and peeled avocado slices, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Combine the peaches, cucumber, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of the water in a food processor; pulse to form a pureed soup. If the consistency seems too thick, add the remaining 1/4 cup water and pulse just to incorporate.
Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Just before serving, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as needed. Stir in the cilantro or parsley. Divide among individual bowls. Drizzle each portion with a little oil. Garnish with the bell pepper and avocado, if desired. Serve right away.
Cassie's version
I peeled the peaches by scoring the bottoms and dropping them into just-boiled water. After sitting for a few minutes, I took them out and was able to slip off their skins quite easily. While I usually don't bother to peel fruit for baked desserts, I felt it was necessary for a blended soup so that it would not be too thick or chunky. I don't have a full-sized food processor, so I just used an immersion blender, and this worked fine. I did take care to press the garlic so that it would better integrate without a food processor, and I found that 3/4 cup of water was definitely called for to thin the soup to a desirable consistency.
The only other small changes I made were to use regular white wine vinegar, since that was what I had, and to use about a teaspoon more than is called for because I thought the sweetness of the peaches needed to be tempered a bit more after tasting it. I added a dash of cayenne to pep it up a bit, and added fresh cracked pepper after refrigerating it. I served it with ice cubes since I only refrigerated it for an hour (rather than the recommended two - we were ready for dinner!), and topped it with diced bell pepper, chopped cilantro, and another swirling of olive oil. Don't skip the final olive oil addition, as this really helps to make this a savory rather than a sweet soup. I decided to use the avocado for a pre-dinner guacamole instead of as a garnish, mostly because my husband prefers avocado on its own rather than as a topping, and it seemed a shame for him to miss out. An avowed tomato hater, he said that this soup tasted just like gazpacho but without the offending ingredient, and I took this as a compliment. I also thought it was clearly in the gazpacho category, particularly with the addition of the diced red pepper, but I definitely found it to be sweeter than the standard tomato variety.
If you find the savory-sweet combination appealing, and if you'd like to use fresh peaches in a creative way, please try this soup! It's very quick, once you peel the fruit, and it tastes and looks like a summer dish should - simple, cool, healthy, and colorful.
ANN'S SOUP: SOME LIKE SOUP HOT - Chilled Curried Pear Soup (from cookstr.com)
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
6 c. sliced peeled pears about 6)
2 c. chopped onions
2 c. sliced leeks, white and light green parts
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. curry powder
6 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. white wine
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Yogurt Garnish:
1/4 c. sliced green onions
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/3 c. plain yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste
Melt 5 Tbsp. of the butter in a large pot over med. high heat. Add pears, onions, leeks and garlic and saute for 2 min. Reduce heat to med. and and saute for 1 min. Sprinkle with the flour and curry powder and saute for 5 min. or until pears are soft. Gradually whisk in stock and wine, then simmer for 15 min., reducing heat if necessary, until soup is velvety and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, prepare the yogurt garnish by heating the butter in a small skillet over med. high heat, then adding the green onion and sauteing for 2 min.
Add honey and sesame oil and saute for 1 more min. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Use and immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot until it's smooth. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve topped with a dollop of the yogurt garnish.
Ann's Version
I made this soup about a month ago and apologize for how long it's taken me to post. The only cold soups I've actually made in the past are gazpacho (LOVE!) and vichyssoise (wished it were hot) and I had high hopes for this recipe because I love all the ingredients. I intended to make it through two batches of pears brought home from the grocery, both of which were overripe by the time I got around to actually making the soup. The overripe pears do make a delicious fruit crisp, by the way. With the third batch of pears I got down to it and followed the recipe pretty closely. The only ingredient I changed was using chives instead of green onions in the garnish because that's what I had on hand.
The soup was delicious as I cooked it and I had a hot bowl right after pureeing the pot. Really aromatic and tasty. I refrigerated it and next day had it for lunch cold and it was totally blah. What happened? So the following day for lunch I heated it up and it was wonderful again. I think the cold just deadens the aroma and makes the soup quite bland. The yogurt garnish is good on both hot and cold versions, but next time I think I'd leave out the honey or cut it way down as it seemed incongruously sweet.
I finished the soup and really liked it, but only when it was hot. Perhaps cold fruit soups are too smoothie-like for me, the rare person who finds smoothies strangely irritating.
