Hot Day, Cold Soup

We are currently experiencing a heat wave in Toronto. Although I appreciate milder weather, this heat and humidity really are too much! Of course I still have a hearty appetite but all I crave now is chilled food. Salad? Always. Fresh fruit? Of course. And then there's cold soup.

There are people who love cold soup and there are people who find the whole concept strange. I am of the former camp. In fact, I enjoy eating things straight out of the fridge as soon as the mercury rises. There are always plenty of ready-to-eat food in my fridge. When I come home starving after a hard workout, I don't even want to wait another second to reheat my meal. As you can imagine, cold soup fits my eating habit seamlessly. Gazpacho and vichyssoise are classic examples of cold soup but there are really so much more. This week, I made the most of the summer bounty from my CSA share and enjoyed not one, but two cold soups. They both highlight the flavour of fresh vegetable harvest at the height of the season. What not to love?

Summer Borscht

Ingredients

• 1lb of beets, scrubbed and trimmed (save the greens for something else)
• 2 large slices of red onion
• 1 spring onion
• 2 tbsp of fresh dill
• juice of 1 lime or 1/2 a lemon
• 4-6 tbsp of white wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup of fresh green peas
• 2 hardboiled eggs, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp of sour cream
• sweet paprika

Method

1. In a medium size pot, cover the beets with water. Bring to boil and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 30-60 minutes depending on the size of the beets until tender. Set aside to cool.
2. When the beets are cooled enough to handle, slip the skin off. Measure 1L of the cooking liquid and set aside. If there isn't enough, top it with more water until you have 1L.
3. Reserve a quarter of the beets. In a food processor or a blender, combine the remaining beets, red onion, spring onion, dill, lime/lemon juice. If you're using a food processor, add in about a cup of the beet cooking liquid and process until smooth. If you're using a blender, you can add in all the cooking liquid and blend until smooth.
4. Empty the pureed beets into a large mixing bowl. If you used a food processor, stir in the remaining cooking liquid. Season with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Chill 2 hours or overnight for the flavour to meld.
5. Dice the reserved beets. Divide them evenly between four 500mL Mason Jars. Layer with green peas, tomatoes, and hardboiled eggs. Store in fridge.
6. When the broth is ready, ladle them into the four jars. Store in fridge until ready to serve.
7. To serve, simply remove a jar from fridge and garnish with a tablespoon of sour cream and a dusting of paprika. I love to see the deep jewel tone of the broth turn neon pink when I stir in the sour cream. That touch of richness really makes this soup shine!

Cream Of Lettuce With Snow Peas

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp of chopped garlic scapes
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 3 tbsp of chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 large head of green leaf lettuce, washed and torn into pieces
• 4 cups of water or vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 150g creme fraiche or heavy cream
• 3 cups of snow peas, trimmed and julienned

Method

1. In a large heavy bottom pot, heat butter and olive oil until butter starts to foam. Sautee the garlic scapes, spring onion, and parsley until fragrant. Add in lettuce and cook until it wilts. Add in splashes of water or vegetable broth if necessary to help with the cooking.
2. Empty the vegetable into the bowl of a food processor or blender. If you're using a food processor, add about 1 cup of water or broth and process until smooth. If you're using a blender, feel free to add in all the water or broth and blend until smooth.
3. Return the pureed vegetable back to the pot and any remaining water or broth. Bring to boil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the creme fraiche or heavy cream. Simmer until soup is just a little thickened. Adjust seasoning and remove from heat.
5. Toss in the snow peas. The remaining heat from the soup will soften them just a bit but still retain a good crunch. You are not trying to make them mushy.
6. Divide between 3 Mason jars of 500mL size. Chill in refridgerator until ready to serve.