KQED Food Blog: Bay Area Bites: Cold Soup for a Hot Day
Bay Area Bites: culinary rants & raves from bay area foodies and professionals
Previous Posts
Popping the Cherry
Cook by the Book: The New California Cook
Farm Tour: Marin Sun Farms, Part II
Hatch's Fish & Produce, Wellfleet Masachusettes
Bastille Day et Tarte aux Abricots avec Noisettes ...
Tea'd Off: Modern Tea vs. Lovejoy's
Feeling Lucky?
Farm Tour: Marin Sun Farms, Part I
NYC: Coney Island!
Le Quatre Juillet et Tarte aux Pommes
 
 
BAB Guidelines

'Bay Area Bites' is part of KQED's Blog Authors Collaborative. Blog contributors and commentators are solely responsible for their content. If you're interested in writing or contributing to a blog on kqed.org, email us with your idea.
 
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Cold Soup for a Hot Day


Did I mention it's been hot here? Like really, REALLY hot. Like high 90s with high humidity hot. Like New York City in August stuck on the 3 express at rush hour hot. You get the picture. One way we try to beat the heat here is to picnic along the banks of the Seine. Not that any rejuvenating cool ocean breezes come off that river, nor would you dare put a foot in (you might end up growing an extra toe!) but it's much more pleasant than sitting in a sweltering apartment or a crowded cafe with smoke lazily curling past your face. Our favorite spot is on the Port de la Tournelle where we are treated to gorgeous sunsets with Notre Dame and Pont de l'Archeveche as the backdrop. I know, pinch me.



I've been subsisting on watermelon and ice cream so I was so excited to receive my friend Gwen Walter's culinary newsletter, Pen and Fork, a week ago with a delicious recipe for Chilled Lemon Ginger Carrot Soup. This I could do! This recipe is from her cookbook, The Great Ranch Cookbook and since Gwen lives in Arizona, I figured she knew a thing or two about HOT.

Cooking the soup nearly killed me as I was loathe to even approach the stove much less turn it on. It was so hot (how hot was it?!) I didn't need to turn the burner on the melt the butter! But I persevered and the results were well worth it - a light, refreshing, lemony, cheerful soup perfect for these sweltering summer days.

Chilled Lemon Ginger Carrot Soup - serves 4



2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 pound carrots, peeled, and chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 generous tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
zest of 1 lemon
2 (14 oz) cans low sodium chicken broth
water as needed
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons minced fresh chives (optional)
2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger (optional)
4 tablespoon tiny shrimp or lump crabmeat (optional)



1. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in carrots, ginger, cayenne and lemon zest.



2. Cook an addition 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently to coat carrots with the butter and evenly distribute the ginger, cayenne and zest.



3. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a good simmer and cook until carrots are fork tender, about 20 minutes.



4. Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth. If you don't have one, you can use a blender. (CAUTION: Hot liquid shoots straight up in a blender so do not fill more than half full, unless you have a Vita Mix with variable speed, which can handle the whole amount.) If it is too thick, add water in 1/4 cup increments until you have your desired consistency.



5. Whisk in lemon juice. Taste, and add salt if desired.

6. This step is optional. Here I strained the soup in a mesh strainer. This isn't necessary, but I was just in the mood and it was still a bit too thick for me on such a hot day.



Note: Always use a metal spoon to push the soup through, never a wooden spoon because the mesh will catch on the spoon creating tiny splinters.

7. Chill soup in an ice bath and refrigerate until completely chilled. May be prepared the day before.



8. To serve, ladle about a cup of soup in chilled soup bowls or cups. Garnish with a sprinkling of chives and candied ginger, about a half teaspoon each for each serving. The garnishes are optional but really take it to an explosive flavor level.



Note: If you want to dress it up, top it with some chilled cooked shrimp or lump crabmeat.

Bon Appetit!
 
 

1 Comments:

Blogger shuna fish lydon said...

When I discovered how to make ginger-carrot soup I made it all the time. It is indeed refreshing.

But I am so happy that you, too, know that ice cream is a food group. Thanks for co-signing me on that one.

7/24/2006 1:46 AM

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

Locate CP Restaurants:
Check, Please! Google Map
 
KQED Food Sites
Check, Please! Bay Area
Jacques Pépin Celebrates!
Jacques Pépin:
Fast Food My Way
Jacques Pépin:
The Apprentice
Jacques Pépin:
The Complete Pépin
KQED Wine Club
KQED.org Cooking
Weir Cooking in the City
 
Tasty Food Sites
CHOW
Chowhound SF
Crushpad
CUESA
CulinaryCorps
Eat Local Challenge
Edible San Francisco
Epicurious
eGullet.org
Food Network
Food Talk
Group Recipes
Hungry Magazine
KTEH Food
Leite's Culinaria
Locavores
Mighty Foods
NPR: Food
Om Organics
Serious Eats
SFGate: Food
SFGate: Wine
SF Station: Restaurants
Slow Food SF
Top Chef
Wikimedia Commons: Food & Drink
Yahoo! Food
Yelp: Reviews
 
Tangy Food Blogs
101 Cookbooks
A Full Belly
Accidental Hedonist
agoodfoodblog
An Obsession with Food
Anna's Cool Finds
Becks & Posh
Between Meals
Blogsoop
Bunny Foot
Butter Pig
Cellar Rat
Chez Pim
Chocolate & Zucchini
Confessions of a
Restaurant Whore
Cooking For Engineers
Cooking with Amy
Cucina Testa Rossa
Culinary Muse
Denise's Kitchen
Digesty-SF
Eater SF
Eggbeater
Extramsg.com
Feed & Supply
Food Blog S'cool
Food Musings
Food Porn Watch
Gastronomie
Hedonia
I'm Mad and I Eat
In Praise of Sardines
Jatbar
Knife's Edge
Life Begins at 30
Love and Cooking
MeatHenge
Mental Masala
Moveable Feast
Nosheteria
Organic Day
Passionate Eater
San Francisco Gourmet
SF City Eats
Simply Recipes
Spicetart
The Amateur Gourmet
Tablehopper
The Ethicurean
The Food Section
The Grub Report
The Petite Pig
The Wine Makers Wife
Vin Divine
Vinography
VirgoBlue
Wandering Spoon
Well Fed Network
Word Eater
World on a Plate
Yummy Chow
 
 
   
Search BAB

Eye Candy: Food Photos
BAB on flickr.com
Join Flickr for free and share your photos with the Bay Area Bites and Beyond group pool.
 
Food Books
 
The Moosewood Cookbook
by Mollie Katzen
 
Baking: From My Home to Yours
by Dorie Greenspan
 
Grand Livre de Cuisine: Alain Ducasse's Desserts and Pastries
by Alain Ducasse, Frederic Robertmison
 
The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining
by Cheryl Alters Jamison, Bill Jamison
 
Tasty: Get Great Food on the Table Every Day
by Roy Finamore
 
Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way
by Lorna Sass
 
The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa
by Marcus Samuelsson
 
Michael Mina: The Cookbook
by Michael Mina, Photographer: Karl Petzktle
 
What to Eat
by Marion Nestle
 
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
 
Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate
by John Scharffenberger, Robert Steinberg
 
Romancing the Vine: Life, Love, and Transformation in the Vineyards of Barolo
by Alan Tardi
 
What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea -- Even Water -- Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers
by Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page, Michael Sofronski
 
The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-be Southerners
by Matt Lee, Ted Lee
 
Bread Matters: The State of Modern Bread and a Definitive Guide to Baking Your Own
by Andrew Whitley
 
Coloring the Seasons: A Cook's Guide
by Allegra McEvedy
 
All-new Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
by Anne C. Cain
 
Modern Garde Manger
by Robert B. Garlough
 
The Spice and Herb Bible
by Ian Hemphill, Kate Hemphill
 
The Improvisational Cook
by Sally Schneider
 
Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children
by Ann Cooper, Lisa M. Holmes
 
Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia
by James Oseland
 
My Life in France
by Julia Child, Alex Prud'Homme
 
A Passion for Ice Cream: 95 Recipes for Fabulous Desserts
by Emily Luchett, Sheri Giblin (photographer)
 
Au Pied De Cochon -- The Album
by Martin Picard
 
Memories of Philippine Kitchens
by Amy Besa, Romy Dorotan
 
Simple Chinese Cooking
by Kylie Kwong
 
 
An Invitation to Indian Cooking
by Madhur Jaffrey
 
Hungry Planet
by Peter Menzel, Faith D'Aluisio
 
Sunday Suppers at Lucques : Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table
by Suzanne Goin, Teri Gelber
 
Simple Soirees: Seasonal Menus for Sensational Dinner Parties
by Peggy Knickerbocker, Christopher Hirsheimer (Photographer)
 
The Cook's Book
by Jill Norman
 
Molto Italiano : 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home
by Mario Batali
 
Nobu Now
by Nobuyuki Matsuhisa
 
Cheese : A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best
by Max Mccalman, David Gibbons
 
Bones : Recipes, History, and Lore
by Jennifer McLagan
 
Whiskey : The Definitive World Guide
by Michael Jackson
 
The New American Cooking
by Joan Nathan
 
ChocolateChocolate
by Lisa Yockelson
 
Easy Entertaining: Everything You Need to Know About Having Parties at Home
by Darina Allen
 
Cooking at De Gustibus: Celebrating 25 Years of Culinary Innovation
by Arlene Feltman Sailhac
 
Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads
by Richard Bertinet
 
Chocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor
by Michael Recchiuti, Fran Gage, Maren Caruso
 
The Food Substitutions Bible: More Than 5,000 Substitutions for Ingredients, Equipment And Techniques
by David Joachim
 
Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook
by Susan Spungen
 
Spices of Life: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Great Health
by Nina Simonds
 
Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent
by Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid
 
Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light
by Mort Rosenblum
 
Vegetable Love: A Book for Cooks
by Barbara Kafka, Christopher Styler
 
A History of Wine in America: From Prohibition to the Present
by Thomas Pinney
 
Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years Of Food And Art
by Tom Gilliland, Miguel Ravago, Virginia B. Wood
 
Matzoh Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of the Jewish South
by Marcie Cohen Ferris
 
Washoku: Recipes From The Japanese Home Kitchen
by Elizabeth Andoh, Leigh Beisch
 
 
Weir Cooking in the City: More than 125 Recipes and Inspiring Ideas for Relaxed Entertaining
by Joanne Weir
 
Rick Stein's Complete Seafood
by Rick Stein
 
The Great Scandinavian Baking Book
by Beatrice A. Ojakangas
 
Serena, Food & Stories: Feeding Friends Every Hour of the Day
by Serena Bass
 
John Ash: Cooking One on One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher
by John Ash
 
The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook: Eating Well for Better Health
by Donald Hensrud, M.D., Jennifer Nelson, R.D. & Mayo Clinic Staff
 
Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions
by Fernando and Marlene Divina
 
The Provence Cookbook
by Patricia Wells
 
Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World
by Gil Marks
 
Last Chance to Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World
by Gina Mallet
 
Bouchon
by Thomas Keller
 
A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World
by Maggie Glezer
 
All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking
by Molly Stevens
 
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
by Harold McGee
 
Entertaining: Inspired Menus For Cooking with Family and Friends
by George Dolese
 
The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Spirit of Chinese Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore
by Grace Young, Alan Richardson
 
Cooking New American: How to Cook the Food You Love to Eat
by Fine Cooking Magazine
 
The Japanese Kitchen: A Book of Essential Ingredients with 200 Authentic Recipes
by Kimiko Barber
 
Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food: An Opinionated History and More Than 100 Legendary Recipes
by Arthur Schwartz
 
Poet of the Appetites: The Lives and Loves of M.F.K. Fisher
by Joan Reardon
 
Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes
by Jeffrey Hamelman
 
Everyday Dining with Wine
by Andrea Immer
 
 
Copyright © 2005-2008 KQED. All rights reserved.