Summer Night Soups
By Michael Safdiah

You wouldn’t think soup is a summer thing, but there are so many cooling refreshing soups made of fruits and vegetables that are perfect for a summer lunch or dinner. When food is served cold, you might need to add a bit of extra salt or seasoning to compensate. Soups need to be light, with intense flavors to excite the palate, but not too rich, because you want to feel light when you’re done. Tip: I avoid butter in any chilled soup since the texture gets grainy, and who needs all that fat when you’ve done your best to slim down?

Talk about the opposite of light, I worked at The Village Green when we ran out of chilled cream of leek soup right in the middle of a busy dinner service. Desperate, we frantically improvised a quickie soup in five minutes. It consisted of blender processed very ripe peaches that were lying around, a few artery clogging quarts of heavy cream, lightened with a little milk, accented with white wine, orange zest, fresh ground cinnamon and a pinch of clove. Amazing what you can do in a pinch. Big shock; our customers loved it and kept demanding it ‘til we put it on the menu. We ended up destroying three expensive spice grinders with the cinnamon sticks, but the fresh ground spice made the difference.

Here’s another peach soup (my favorite summer fruit): GINGER PEACH SOUP: 1-1/2 pounds ripe peaches, peeled and pitted, 2 Tb plus 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, divided, 1-1/2 c. buttermilk, 2/3 cup apple juice, 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger, 2 Tb honey, Scant 1 tsp coarse salt, 12 to 16 slices peaches. Method: Peel and pit the peaches, rubbing them with 2 tablespoons lemon juice to prevent discoloration. In a food processor, puree the peaches. Scrape the peach puree into a medium bowl. Stir in buttermilk, apple juice, ginger, honey and salt. Refrigerate until cold. Garnish with peach slices.

CHERRY SOUP WITH MERLOT: 60 oz canned Bing cherries - not drained, 1 c merlot wine, a 4” cinnamon stick, juice and zest of 1 lemon, 2 Tb cornstarch, 1/4 c water, 1 egg yolk, well beaten. Method: In a deep, 3-quart, heat-resistant, non-metallic casserole, combine cherries and their liquid, wine, cinnamon and lemon juice. Heat, covered just until liquid comes to a boil. Meanwhile in a small bowl, combine cornstarch and the1/4 cup water. Stir into hot cherry mixture. Heat uncovered, until thickened and smooth. Pour soup very gradually over egg yolk, stirring constantly. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Serve cold. If you love sour cream or Greek yogurt, use either as a garnish.

COLD TOMATO BEEF SOUP: This one is so simple. 1 can tomato soup, 1 can beef bouillon, dash hot sauce, 8 oz. sour cream, 2 Tbsp chopped green onion, 1 Tbsp. chopped basil, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, 1/2 cucumber, seeded & chopped. Puree all ingredients in food processor. Serve very cold.

SWEET ACORN SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP: Best served cold with a dollop of Greek yogurt. Garnish with a nip of Cream Sherry swirled into the soup just before serving and then top with garnish. 6 servings: 1 small onion diced, 1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded, 1 carrot, peeled, sliced, 2 Tb oil, 1 Tb butter, 1-1/2 c. apple juice, 2 c. chicken broth, 1 apple, peeled cored, chopped, 1/2 c. heavy cream, salt, white pepper, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 pinch fresh grated nutmeg, 1 tsp brown sugar, yogurt or sour cream (garnish), grated nutmeg (garnish). Method: Sauté the onion, carrot, and squash in the butter and oil for 2 minutes. Add the apple juice, chicken stock, apple and seasoning. Cook until vegetables are tender, add heavy cream, warm, and then puree in blender. Serve warm or cold with yogurt on side. Garnish with grated nutmeg. Tip: Acorn squash peels easily if you bake it first.

COLD BEET SOUP: This is better with roasted fresh beets, but if you must (sigh), use canned. Take: 1 can (15 oz) beets, 2 Tb fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp sugar, 1/4 cup minced onion, water, small bunch of fresh chives, sliced, 1-1/4 c sour cream. Drain the liquid from the can of beets. Put in a measuring cup and add water to make one cup. Place lemon juice, onion, sugar and beets plus liquid into a blender and puree until mixture is smooth. Pour into a plastic covered container (I use a long flat one) and place in the freezer. After a while ice crystals will form around the edges. When there is quite a rim of ice, remove from the freezer and stir well. Either stir cold sour cream into the soup until it makes a nice pink color or pour the soup into a dish and serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Here is a hearty, rustic soup I know you’re going to love. Save this for a cooler night, but when you can still use the BBQ: FIRE ROASTED TOMATO & BREAD SOUP: Sweet ripe tomatoes pair beautifully with the vinegar, but you can cheat with a pinch of sugar (shhh). First grill some thick slices of rustic bread, rub with garlic, and drizzle with best olive oil. These will be your garnish. By grilling the vegetables, you add a depth of flavor but by not over-cooking you still retain the freshness. Okay let’s go: Take: 4 lbs plum tomatoes, 6 garlic cloves, peeled and whole, 1 medium red onion sliced 1/2” thick, 1 red pepper, 2 Tb EV olive oil, 1 Tb balsamic vinegar, 1/2 Tsp oregano, 8 torn basil leaves, sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste, 6 nice sun dried tomatoes, 2 c vegetable or chicken broth, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shaved or grated (optional) Method: Pre-heat barbeque to high, oil the grill. Half and oil the tomatoes, place on grill cut side down with onion pieces and pepper until they just char. Remove from grill, and when cool enough to handle, remove skins. Into a roasting pan, place the garlic, oregano, half the basil and some olive oil. Add the vegetables, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes. Place the dried tomatoes and the roasted vegetables in food processor bowl and begin puree. Slowly add hot broth or water until soup has the consistency you like. I’m partial to a more coarse textured soup. Serve hot or chilled, garnished with cheese, the grilled bread and the rest of the basil leaves. This begs for a simple red wine, like Chianti or Cotes du Rhone.

I'm happy to explain anything I've written about and really want to hear your suggestions. Really, even hate mail. Please email me at mymymichl@aol.com. Thanks so much for joining me. Love, Michael