Monday, July 2, 2012

Strawberry Soup


I remember when I was young, back when my taste buds were much less adventurous, the thought of cold soup made me squirm. Soup was supposed to be comforting and warm. Perfect on a winter day, not something cold and refreshing on a hot day.  When I had tried them, it wasn't necessarily a good experience.

Then, I went on a cruise to the Caribbean and the chefs there changed my mind. They let you order as many appetizers as you wanted so I always had to try a few each dinner and be adventurous as you wanted. This is where I learned that cold soup could be good!

The secret, in my opinion, to cold soups is to eat them in small portions. They aren't hearty or one-dish-meal worthy but work great as a starter/appetizer or dessert. This one, works as both. I thought it more attractive and not too overwhelmingly sweet when eaten from a dessert bowl or ramekin. I created this recipe to mimic my favorite one from the cruise. I tried to keep the added sugar to a minimum-most other recipes you will see for strawberry soup are loaded with sugar. It is sad, because they are missing out on that fantastic, tangy punch the natural fruit provides.

Since it is the 4th of July this week, wouldn't it be great to impress your dinner guests with a patriotic dessert soup?

There are multiple uses for any leftovers. It freezes great into popsicles or to make smoothies.

Strawberry Soup
1 pint strawberries (hulled)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP  or less of sugar
1/4 cup cream
whipped cream and blueberries for garnish

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Chill in the fridge until you serve (I would recommend at least 1 hr). Add garnish and serve.

4 comments:

  1. Yum! Looks awesome and I love the leftover ideas:)

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  2. Mmmm I really really want to try this one. One question: what does "hulled" mean?

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  3. "hulled" means to remove the stem and leaves from the strawberry.

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  4. My first experience with cold soup was on a cruise too. It looks yummy!

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