Summer Soups

There was an interesting article on WSJ just yesterday. It introduced recipes for summer soups. I don’t know if you guys have heard of ‘summer soups’ but it was so new to me. These soups are served chilled and give you refreshment like any other summer drink. I’ll share these recipes with you. 

Chilled Cucumber Honeydew Soup

Okay, so the original recipe includes sake to give a cocktail-like touch but I’ve removed it so children can enjoy it as well.

• ·         In a blender, puree 2 cups of seedless cucumbers with 2 cups ripe honeydew melon and ¼ cup Greek yogurt. 
•     Put it in a bowl and add 1 cup diced cucumber and 1 cup diced honeydew.
•  Chill for at least 3 hours before serving.

This is a good soup to serve to children because honeydew adds sweet flavor to it. It can served alone but I served it as thick salad dressing. 

Chilled Corn Soup with Fresh Nutmeg

•   Slice the kernels off 3 ears of fresh summer corn
• Put the cobs in a large pot, boil in 6 cups of water and simmer for about half an hour –this makes corn broth
•  In a soup pot, melt 2 TBSP of butter over medium heat. Add 1 chopped Vidalia onion and 1 chopped shallot and sweat for about 10 min. without browning. Add the corn kernels and stir to coat them in the butter. Add the corn broth and simmer the soup until the corn is tender.
•  Transfer the corn and onions to a blender with 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid. Puree for 5 minutes and transfer to a clean pot to add 1 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Chill for 3 hours before serving.

This is my personal favorite. I love the corn’s natural sweet taste with the deep scent and flavor of nutmeg. Some kids (like mine) tend to dislike the nutmeg flavor and you can omit it in that case.

 

Asparagus Vishyssoise

• ·         Peel and dice 1 potato and slice 3 medium leeks. 
• Sweat in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until translucent. 
• Add 3 cups of chicken broth, bring to boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook until the potato is soft.  
•  Add 1 pound of asparagus and cook 3 to 5 minutes, depending on their thickness; they should be just tender.

I haven’t tried this one yet but as a big asparagus lover, this sure sounds good.

Go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904800304576474043308132226.html for more recipes and information about summer soups. I think it’s a brilliant twist on soups and if anyone knows other cool summer recipes, please share them!