Summer Soups

Cold soups are perfect for steamy summer days when you don’t feel like overheating the kitchen. They are refreshing and rehydrating too, a good thing since we sweat more in the summer. Try a chilled soup with crusty bread or rolls or a sandwich made with filling ingredients for dinner this week.

Chilled Beet Soup

1 lb beets
Sea salt
1 English cucumber, grated using the largest holes in a box grater
1 large dill pickle, coarsely grated, 1/4 cup pickle brine
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Fresh ground black pepper
4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
Chopped fresh dill
Chopped fresh parsley

1. Boil the beets in salted water until tender. Drain and let beets cool.
   Peel and coarsely grate the beets using the largest holes on a box grater.
2. Combine the beets, cucumbers, pickle, brine, buttermilk, sour cream, and green onions with the vegetable broth in a pot or large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Divide soup among bowls and top with eggs and chopped dill and parsley.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Recipe by Ali Lopez

8 cups seedless watermelon, finely diced
1 medium cucumber peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 medium tomato, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small shallot, fine dice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for topping
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt, to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced, optional
Optional toppings: diced avocado, crumbled feta

1. Mix diced veggies with basil, garlic, shallot, oil, vinegar, jalapeño, and salt in a large bowl. In batches, puree all except 1 or 2 cups of the mixture in a blender until smooth. Taste and season as needed.
2. Chill for at least an hour (3 – 4 is even better.) Taste again. When you are ready to serve, top with remaining diced mixture and some more olive oil and any of the optional toppings that you like.

Yogurt Cucumber Soup

2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, diced small, 1 cup reserved
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ¹⁄₄ cups plain Greek yogurt
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh dill chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
pinch white pepper
2 green onions, sliced thin

In a blender, combine the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, mint, chives, olive oil, and salt. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. Stir in the reserved 1 cup of diced cucumber and the green onions. Serve garnished with additional chopped dill and chives.

Creamy Chilled Avocado Soup

1 large, ripe avocado
1 small shallot, chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 an english cucumber, peeled, chopped 
fresh juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch white pepper

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt as needed. Serve immediately.