Soup: Not Just for Cold Weather

Soups can be a healthy way to fill the belly, but we don’t always feel like having a bowl of hot soup on a 90-degree day. Here are three cold soup recipes that don’t take much time but sure do taste like you spent all day preparing them! These soups are occasionally featured as ‘soup of the day’ at the 's .

1)  Cold Avocado Soup with Chili Coriander Cream

3 ripe California avocados (each about 1/2 pound)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, or to taste
1 ½  cups low-salt chicken broth
1 ½  cups buttermilk
2 ½  cups ice water
1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
Tabasco to taste

1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 fresh jalapeño or other fresh green chili, seeded and chopped (wear rubber gloves), or to taste

2 cups packed fresh coriander(cilantro), washed well and spun dry

coriander sprigs for garnish (cilantro)

In a blender or small food processor, blend together all ingredients with salt and pepper to taste, scraping down sides until very smooth. Cream may be made six hours ahead and chilled, covered.

Halve, pit and peel avocados, and in a blender or food processor, blend with lemon or lime juice, broth, buttermilk, two cups ice water, cumin, Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste until smooth. Transfer soup to a large bowl. Thin soup with enough of remaining cup ice water to reach desired consistency and chill, covered with plastic wrap, until very cold, at least two hours and up to four (soup will discolor if kept longer).

Serve soup drizzled with chili coriander cream and garnished with coriander sprigs.

2)  Cold Tomato-Thyme Soup with Grilled Garlic Croutons

5 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onions
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrots
2 ½  teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, halved, seeded, chopped (about 5 cups)
3 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried

1 cup hickory smoke chips, soaked in water 30 minutes, drained
3 ¾ -inch-thick slices sourdough bread
1 garlic clove, halved
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Heat four tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, finely chopped garlic and bay leaf. Cover; cook until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes. Cover; cook until tomatoes release juices, about 10 minutes. Uncover; cook until juices evaporate, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Add broth and chopped thyme. Partially cover pot and simmer until mixture is reduced to 6 cups, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes longer.

Cool soup slightly. Discard bay leaf. Puree half of soup in blender. Stir into soup in pot. Season with salt and pepper. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover. Can be made one day ahead, keep chilled.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Place smoke chips in 8x6-inch foil packet with open top. Set packet atop coals about five minutes before grilling. Brush one tablespoon oil over both sides of bread slices. Grill bread until lightly browned, about two minutes per side. Rub garlic clove halves over bread. Cut bread into three-quarter-inch cubes. If you’re not using a grill then you can use a grill pan and omit the wood chips.

Divide cold soup among bowls. Top with croutons. Garnish with thyme.

3)  Cold Cucumber and Yellow Pepper Soup with Crab Meat and Chives

2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 3 cups)
2 medium yellow bell peppers, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cups one-inch cubes honeydew melon
1 ½  tablespoons finely chopped shallot (about 1 large)
1 fresh jalapeño chili, or to taste, seeded and chopped (wear rubber gloves)
½  cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, or to taste

½  pound lump crab meat, picked over
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar, or to taste
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives, or to taste

Finely diced yellow bell pepper and two-inch pieces fresh chives (for garnish)

In a blender, purée soup ingredients with salt and pepper to taste until smooth. Force soup through a fine sieve (fine mesh strainer) into a bowl and chill, covered for 4 hours, or until very cold. Soup may be made one day ahead and chilled, covered.

Just before serving, in a small bowl toss crab with oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Divide crab mixture among six soup bowls, mounding it in center, and ladle soup around it. Sprinkle each serving with finely chopped chives and garnish with diced yellow pepper and chive pieces.

“You are what you eat and quite frankly, I’m scared.”-Bill Cosby