Posted May 15, 2013
By Tahseen, Ismat
These vitamin-rich soups, using the best seasonal vegetables, are ideal for the hot climate.
In the hot summer, there’s nothing as refreshing as a cold beverage. But you need not just have an aampanna or juice to satiate yourself. Low-cal chilled soups — made with fresh veggies that are available in abu n – dance at this time of the year — are ideal.
Health advantages of cold soups
* When it is hot, the body goes through a loss of fluids. But cold soups aim to replenish the nutrients that are lost. These are made with fresh vegetables and fruits and they also rehydrate the fluids lost through sweating.
Types these are divided into two main categories:
* Savoury: These are most popular and served at the start of the meal. A savoury cold soup is light and will work to build an appetite. Most savoury cold soups are actually made by chilling the hot versions of the soups.
* Sweet: These soups are served as a dessert and made with a fruit or pure. They can be garnished with ice cream. They are had at the end of the meal.
Did you know?
* In the summer of 1917, a chef in New York served a cold potato-leek soup. He named it vichyssoise [pronounced vi-siswaaz] after a French spa resort. Today you get several varieties. The Greeks have a chilled lemon soup — Avgolemono, Russinas love their chilled beet borsch, Danes have a chilled buttermilk soup and in Finland, cold fruit soups are considered a dessert.
Cold cream of peas with mint
Ingredients
Shallot — 1 large, minced
Unsalted butter — 1 ½ tsp
Chicken or veg broth — 2 cups
Mint — 2 sprigs, chopped
Frozen peas — ½ kg
Heavy cream — ¼ cup
Salt and ground pepper — to taste
Pine nuts, roasted — a few
Method: Melt butter in a pan and add the shallots to this. Cook for just a few minutes. Add the broth and mint sprigs and boil. Add the frozen peas and salt and pepper to taste. Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the peas are just tender, for three-to-five minutes. Discard the mint and pure the soup in a blender. Strain and discard solids. Add in the cream. Add seasoning. Chill and serve with mint and roasted pine nuts.
Cold beetroot soup
Ingredients
Beetroots — 2 large beets, peeled
Onion — 1, peeled, sliced
Lemon juice — ½ cup
Salt — ½ tsp
Water — 5 cups
Balsamic vinegar — 2 tbsp
Sugar — 1 tsp
Salt and white pepper — to taste
Method: Peel the beetroots and cut them into cubes. Heat with the water, salt and a little of the lemon juice. Simmer until beets are tender. Add remaining lemon juice. In another pan, put onions, unsalted butter, salt and pepper and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Once done, add the vinegar to it. Cool. Now puree this and the beetroots. Add sugar, salt and white pepper as needed and dill. Chill and serve.
Red pepper gazpacho
Ingredients
Red bell peppers — 5, roasted, cored, seeded and chopped
Tomatoes — 2, small
Onion — ½, peeled and diced
Garlic — 2 cloves, peeled
Chicken or vegetable stock –¾ cup
Orange juice — ¼ cup
Olive oil — ¼ cup
Orange zest, finely grated — 2 tbsp
Lemon juice — 2 tbsp
Salt — 1 tsp
White pepper, ground — ¼ tsp
For the garnish
Spring onions — ½ cup, green part only
Chopped cilantro — 2 tbsp
Lemon peel, grated — 2 tsp
Method: Blend together the red bell peppers, tomatoes, red onion and garlic. Add the stock, olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Liquefy. Chill the soup for a few hours. Serve in bowls and garnish with green onion, cilantro and grated lemon peel.
Gazpacho is a tangy-sweet cold tomato soup originating in Spain. It’s made of fresh vegetables and is healthy. Can be served with boiled eggs and crusty bread.
Vichyssoise
Ingredients
Potatoes –1 ½ pounds, cut into 1-inch cubes
Leeks — 3, medium, white part only, sliced thin
Butter, unsalted — 2 tbsp
Chicken broth or milk — 3 cups
Cream –¾ cup
Salt and pepper — to taste
Chopped chives–1tbsp
Method: Add butter to a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and stir for three minutes. Now, add potatoes and chicken broth or milk. Boil and then simmer till potatoes turn soft. Remove and cool. Add this to a blender and puree. Now, re-add the soup to the fire and whisk in the cream, stirring quickly and bring to a boil. Simmer again for about six minutes and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate. When serving, sprinkle chives over the top.
Times of India
© 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited
