Cold Soup on a Hot Day!

August 15, 2017

Soup up your summer! You know gazpacho, the cold seasonal treat tantalizing palates across town this August? Well, we found a dozen more chilled versions of classics you can blitz in your blender and put on ice to cool off. For most of these recipes you’ll need a powerful food chopper, so if you don’t already have one, start by looking at amazon.com possibilities.

Nice and Spicy

With tomatoes ripening on the vine, this gazpacho (“a spicy cold soup made with chopped vegetables”) is cool with cucumber plus a pinch of cayenne for a little zip. Olivia’s Cuisine adds garlic and onion with a bacon and cream garnish!

Soup doesn’t have to be soupy, you know. This avocado asparagus gazpacho from Nutrition Stripped could easily be a dip! The cumin gives it a kick, and the lemons and lime help keep it fresh for a week in the fridge.

Corn also doesn’t have to mean a heavy chowder. This cold Spicy White Bean gazpacho from Vegetarian Ventures combines yellow tomatoes, sweet corn, bell peppers, and fruity olive oil for the perfect summery complements. And, the protein-packed white beans make it thick and smooth instead of chunky.

Okroshka, also known as chilled buttermilk soup with herbs, is a classic Russian summer dish featured in Saveur. Grated horseradish and spicy mustard add a zesty starting point for this cold soup. If you can’t find the quail eggs the recipe calls for, quartered hard-boiled chicken eggs will do.

Minty Fresh Soup

Peas, fava beans, and mint are a fail-safe combination. Enjoy them blended together in this super-simple, five-ingredient recipe. There’s only a touch of cream—and it goes a long way, according to Mattika Arts.

Lorraine Elliott at Not Quite Nigella has a five-minute chilled white bean, cucumber, mint and yogurt soup that’s as refreshing as it is tasty, with green olives and pistachio nuts as garnish. When you’re in a rush, this quick and delicious refresher is every flavor of perfect!

While thick, chunky pea soup is a staple for colder months, it’s the blended cashews in this veggie-based soup that create its silky texture. Cucumbers give the chilled pea soup from the Rhubarbarians a cooling effect, so it’s perfect for summer.

Best of the Beans

If you’ve ever spooned hummus right out of a container, this recipe is for you. With tahini, cumin and garlic, this hummus soup tastes like the classic bean dip.  Framed Cooks soupified it into a main meal with yummy feta garnish.

Perfect for lunch or a light dinner, this chilled edamame soup from Whisk and Shout has everything going for it: appetizing volume from edamame and avocado, taste (thanks to fresh basil), and just enough spunk from something called garam masala, the Indian equivalent of Chinese five-spice powder.

Fruity Faves

The coconut-pineapple combination is classic, but when you add bell peppers, onion, and cilantro to the mix, it’s a whole new level of deliciousness. Call it cold soup or a savory piña colada, this recipe from Yummily Yours will introduce you to something special for summer!

With cardamom, cinnamon, and lemon juice, a sweet and tart cherry soup could be an appetizer or a healthy dessert. The creaminess comes from sour cream, but as The Hungry Hounds will tell you, yogurt or crème fraiche work just as well.

Don’t forget the Farmer’s Market at Southlands Town Center with table after table of produce. You can survey and buy these tasty summer treats every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Main Street.

Chilling in Southshore

The master-planned community of Southshore is minutes from area amenities, events and shopping and entertainment options. Tour the brand new models from Richmond American Homes and Century Communities in Southshore! Homes in this lakeside community are available in ranch and two-story designs, priced from the upper $300s to the $700s.