Most people tend to think of soup as a winter/comfort food. I love it year round, but especially in the summer. I use my slow cooker, which doesn't heat up the kitchen. I have a week's worth of lunches or dinners when I'm finished, which I can heat in the microwave. Neither of those appliances heat up my kitchen. Plus, it's a great way to take even more advantage of summer's bounty and all of the related antioxidants. For me, a pretty perfect meal is a fresh salad with a vinaigrette dressing, a bowl of soup, a piece of hearty whole grain bread, and some fresh fruit for dessert. Tonight I'm making a red pepper/cauliflower soup and enjoying some of this week's very cheap cherries for dessert. Here is the recipe. And I'm putting some of my other favorites below. If you want something cooler, I'm giving you recipes for gazpacho and cucumber soup.
Bon appetit!
Red Pepper-Cauliflower Soup (adapted from Sunset Magazine)
6 large red bell peppers,stemmed and cored, halved lengthwise, and pressed flat
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 shallots, peeled and choped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 quart fat-skimmed chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 teaspoon sugar
freshly ground pepper
extra-virgin olive oils, chopped fresh chives, and lemon wedges (optional)
1. Preheat broiler to high. Arrange bell pepper skin side up on baking sheet. Broil, watching carefully, until skins are blackened,about 10 minutes. Remove peppers from oven and let cool. Peel over a bowl to collect juices; set peppers and juices aside.
2. In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add shallots, salt, and cayenne and cook, stiorring until soft, 3 minutes. Add broth and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to as immer. Cover and cook 20 minutes. Add peppers with juices and cook, covered, until cauliflower is tender, 10 minutes. Puree in batches in a blender and add sugar. add pepper to taste.
3. Serve hot or cold, garnished with a drizzle of olive ol, some chives, and a squeeze of lemon juice of you like.
Chicken and Corn Summer Chowder (from Sunset Magazine)
2 slices turkey bacon, chopped (I used an apple-smoked ham hock)
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp flour
1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
6 cups reduced-sodium or homemade chicken broth
4 cups shredded cooked chicken (you can get this pre-cooked to make it easy)
kernels cut from 3 ears corn
1/4 to 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and chopped
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 limes cut into wedges
freshly ground black pepper
1. In a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat, cook bacon until fat renders and meat starts to brown. (Alternately, place ham hock into soup at last stage). Add onion, reduce heat to medium, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, until flour smells cooked (like baked pie crust) but hasn't started to brown, about 3 minutes.
2. Add potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to keep mixture simmering and cook until potatoes are barely tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and corn and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir inyogurt to taste. Heat through, about 2 minutes. Serve in soup bowls, garnished with tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, a squirt or two of lime juice, and pepper to taste.
Summer Gazpacho (from Sunset Magazine)
4 lbs. tomatoes, cored
1 1/2 lbs. cucumbers, washed and scrubbed
tomato juice base: 3 cups tomato juice, 3/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 large bell peppers, 1 yellow and 1 green, stemmed and seeded
1/2 cup diced onion
1 large firm-ripe avocado
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup Greek yogurt
Chop 3 tomatoes and 1 cucumber. Fill a blendor or food processor with vegetables; with motor running add enough of the tomato juice base to smoothly puree mixture. Pour mixture into a large bowl or tureen. If needed, puree any remaining chopped vegetables. Add to tureen with any remaining tomato base.
Cut remaining tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers into about 3/8 inch cubes. Add to bowl along with onion; mix.cover, and chill until cold, about 2 hours, or up to 1 day.
Peel, pit, and slice avocado into 10 to 12 wedges; coat wedges with lemon juice. Stir gazpacho and ladle into wide soup bowls; top with avocado slices and spoonfuls of yogurt. Offer olive oil to drizzle into portions to taste; season to taste with salt. Makes 9 or 10 servings.
Cold Cucumber Soup (adapted from Emeril Lagasse)
6 pounds cucumbers (about 6 cucumbers), peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped (12 cups)
2 yellow bell peppers, stem and seeds removed, coarsely chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
3 to 4 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 cups plain Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
Directions
Combine the cucumbers, bell peppers, green onions, jalapenos, cilantro, mint, dill, garlic, Essence, salt, cayenne, yogurt, 2 cups sour cream, olive oil, and white wine vinegar in a large bowl. Working in batches, puree the ingredients in a blender until very smooth. Transfer the soup to the refrigerator until well chilled, at least 2 hours. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve the soup, with each bowl garnished with a dollop of the remaining sour cream and some of the minced chives.
Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup