This recipe from the venerated James Beard reminds me so much of the one my Syrian mom made. But it uses Swiss chard instead of spinach. Mama would have served this with rice. Yes, that seems like a lot of lemon juice, and you can cut it back, but it’s so delicious.
Beautiful zephyr squash and the first day of summer has inspired me to make a chilled soup. This recipe will make about 2 quarts. Make some croutons with whatever leftover bread is in your house to garnish the soup and provide a crunchy contrast.
This recipe is adapted from one written by food writer Christine Gallary. You can make up a big batch and freeze the extra. Serve this soup cold or hot.
This is another recipe from Whole Foods.
This recipe (and the next one) comes from Lynne Rossetto Kasper of public radio’s “The Splendid Table.” This recipe will freeze perfectly, great for winter when you just wish you had a box with 3 dozen gorgeous summer tomatoes. Peel the tomatoes or not, up to you.
This Charleston recipe appeared in the May 2011 issue of Saveur. I could eat it by the gallon.
If these cooler nights are making you think “soup”, here’s an easy, easy recipe. You could just roast the squash, onions and chicken and stop there, or you can cut it all up and turn it into soup. Your call.
And this recipe for tomato soup was a fabulous surprise. No cooking at all, and absolutely delicious. I served it to Marcia, MellowBellies’ intrepid photographer, this evening and she kept saying, “It’s so sweet!” That was just because of the fabulous MellowBelly tomatoes. You’d only want to make this when you have really wonderful summer tomatoes. But it couldn’t be easier and I think it will keep for several days in the refrigerator. It does separate when it settles, so just shake it up before serving. The recipe came from the August 2010 issue of Woman’s Day magazine.
I’ve been experimenting with cold soups this week, and I’m really enjoying these two options which use a number of items from this week’s box.
I‘ve been a huge fan of gazpacho since my first taste at the Peasant Uptown at Phipps Plaza (which means I’m really dating myself since they’ve been closed for years). Spicy, flavorful tomato gazpacho, topped with shrimp … and served with their cheese toast …. it opened my eyes to the pleasures of cold soup. Now most summers I keep a half gallon jar of gazpacho in the refrigerator as soon as the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers come in.
Recently I’ve been seeing recipes for watermelon gazpacho, and this week I finally tried it out. Delicious! Here’s one way to make it, but I’ve seen it demonstrated by chefs at local farmers’ markets using many variations including adding tomatoes, using more hot peppers, or varying herbs like using dill. I liked this recipe because it used what I have in my garden and box right now. You could leave out the crab, or substitute shrimp. The sweet seafood is a nice foil for the spicy fruitiness of the soup.
This recipe is extremely simple and everyone who’s eaten it has loved it. This recipe came from Lincoln Stevens who was the catering chef for the Woodruff Arts Center and served this recipe at the High Café. Adjust the herbs to suit your household’s preference. I’m not a big fan of rosemary, so I’d have more parsley. The leeks, shallots and garlic are all ways of adding onion flavor to the soup. You could substitute a white or yellow onion for the leeks and shallots and the soup would still be delicious. Leave out the butter, obviously, if you need a vegan dish. We’re running this recipe next month in the AJC.
