By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD
This is the time of year when fresh produce makes you want to be creative, but without spending a lot of time in a hot kitchen. This makes it a perfect time for cold soups (which can also double as salad dressing and dips).
Create a cold veggie soup base by combining chopped, seeded, very ripe tomatoes, canned creamed corn (the “cream” is actually cornstarch, rather than dairy), and silken tofu in the blender. Using this as a base you can create many types of cold soups. Consider adding cubed avocado and sliced black olives or sliced fresh mushrooms and chopped sweet onions or diced radishes and (seeded) bell peppers and shredded carrots or diced (seeded) cucumbers and shredded fresh basil.
It’s said that the original vichyssoise (cold leek and potato soup) was created in the kitchens of the New York Ritz Carlton around 1917. Chef Louis Diat, from the Vichy region of France, remembered his mother cooling a hot potato soup down with cold milk during the hot summer months; he modified it to reflect the “elegance” of an (unairconditioned) hotel dining room. It is possible to skip cooking a version of this soup by stirring a cup of vegan instant potato flakes or dry mashed potato mix into two cups of (cold) vegetable broth. If you happen to have left over mashed potatoes, you can use these instead of the instant potatoes. When these ingredients are well-combined, whisk in a cup of vegan sour cream, sprinkle with onion power, stir, and allow to chill for about one hour before serving. You’ll want to whisk it again before serving, and garnish with chopped fresh parsley and chopped scallions (green part only).
Cold fruit soups are popular hot weather item in many cuisines. Cold mango soup can be sweet, dessert-like or savory. Make a sweet, cold mango soup by peeling and pitting very ripe mangoes and blending them in a food processor with vegan yogurt or coconut milk, a splash of orange juice, and small amount of diced fresh ginger. Season with cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg. Garnish with fresh blueberries, pitted fresh cherries, or raspberries. Create a savory cold mango soup by blending ripe mango with vegan sour cream and a splash of coconut water. Add a small amount of diced, fresh garlic and chili paste. Season with a chopped fresh parsley or basil. Allow mango soups to chill for at least two hours prior to serving.
Create cold melon soups with about four cups of cupped, seeded melon; you can use watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, or Crenshaw, using either one type of melon or using a combination. Blend with vegan yogurt or silken tofu, vegan syrup, such as agave or rice, to taste, and shredded fresh mint leaves. If you have extra cucumber, peel, de-seed, and add them as well. Chill for at least two hours before serving. Garnish with small slices of melon or cucumber.
Mixed berry soups are colorful and deeply flavorful, and fast to make. Combine about 4 cups of assorted berries blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries. In a blender with about 2 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, and 1 Tablespoon of fresh, diced ginger. Purée until smooth and chill for at least two hours prior to serving. Before serving, if needed, stir in a small amount of vegan syrup for sweetening. Garnish with whole berries and fresh mint.