Cool Comfort

I don’t know what it is about eating outdoors but I love it. A cup of coffee and a croissant for breakfast outside on the deck; a light lunch and perhaps a glass of wine in the sunny courtyard of a downtown café; dinner under the stars; I love them all. Sadly they are not always possible and I have too many memories of scuttling inside with a plate of rained-soaked barbecued goodies after chancing the vagaries of New Zealand weather. Lately though, we have been having splendid late-spring weather for days at a time; still too early and chilly for the starlit dinner perhaps but ideal for the al fresco lunch.

The fine weather has also meant time and effort for me in the garden preparing for what we hope will eventually be an abundant harvest of summer fruit and vegetables. When I am gardening I usually have only a half-hour lunch break having found that the longer I stop, the longer I take to get started again and this means that I have no time for lengthy lunch preparation and cooking. Sandwiches are fine but still take time and I’d have to take my boots off and so forth before I went into the house; salads are the same and neither of them improve with time in the fridge should I choose to make them beforehand. I wanted something delicious, healthy and cool and that I could make the night before. My answer was…chilled soup. I make it while preparing dinner the night before, chill it overnight and next morning pour it into a vacuum flask to take it into the garden with me. Chilled soups are ideal for so many other summer occasions too.

My favourite and the easiest is a basic gazpacho Andaluz. In a processor I just blitz a can of tomatoes in juice with a red capsicum, a small onion, as much garlic as you like, half a cucumber (seeded), a small handful of fresh breadcrumbs, some olive oil and wine vinegar and salt and pepper.  Dilute it with a cup or so of iced water or ice cubes and chill in the fridge. There are no exact measures it’s just a matter of taste with this one. These amounts would serve 2 or 3.

If red isn’t your colour, then try this chilled almond soup from the same region of Spain:

Ajo Blanco

100g blanched almonds – ground almonds will do but they have to be fresh
8 slices stale country-style bread –crusts removed
2 cloves of garlic – more or less to taste
Pinch of salt
3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2tbsp sherry vinegar – dry sherry or wine vinegar can be used
600ml iced water
20 or so green grapes – seedless or with seeds removed for garnish

Put the almonds, garlic and salt in a blender or food processor and whiz until very finely ground. Soak the bread in some water and then squeeze almost dry.

With the motor running add a little of the bread to the garlic mixture and then the oil in a thin stream. When smooth add the remaining bread in pieces with the vinegar and enough water to make a smooth cream. Chill covered for at least two hours then dilute with iced water before serving garnished with the grapes.

Serves 4.

The first chilled soup I ever had was Vichyssoise, a wonderfully creamy leek and potato creation. I remember getting quite a surprise as nobody had told me it would be cold.

Vichyssoise

1kg Agria or similar potatoes – peeled and sliced
4 leeks – white part only – thinly sliced
1L good chicken stock
1tbsp butter
250ml cream
Salt and white pepper
3tbsp chopped chives – for garnish

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the sliced leeks and cook gently until softened but do not allow them to brown. Add the potatoes and chicken stock and simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Remove from the heat and blend the soup until smooth. Allow to cool a little then stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper, remembering a cold dish requires slightly more salt. Chill the soup then serve garnished with chopped chives.

Serves 6 to 8

Similar in method but vastly different in taste is this:

Chilled Spiced Carrot and Coconut Soup

500g carrots – peeled and chopped
1L good chicken stock
1tbsp butter
1 medium onion – finely chopped
1tbsp curry paste or powder
Salt and pepper
270ml can coconut milk – or equivalent amount
1 lemon or lime – thinly sliced for garnish

In a saucepan simmer the carrots in the chicken stock until tender. Meanwhile in a frypan heat the butter and gently fry the onions until soft but not brown. Add the curry paste or powder to the onions and continue frying for 2 minutes or so. Add the onion and curry mix to the carrots and stock and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning then allow the soup to simmer gently for a further 10 minutes. Cool the soup to room temperature and then stir in the coconut milk. Chill well before serving and garnish with the lemon or lime slices.

Serves 6.

There are of course many other recipes. For a more formal or sit-at-the-table lunch than my gardening break, a chilled soup could be followed by a cool salad or even a plate of fresh asparagus with homemade aioli or mayonnaise, maybe a paté with thin Melba toast, a plate of antipasti or simply a selection of cheeses with the season’s fruit…surely the very essence of spring and summer elegance.

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