Soup Night (33 page)

Some gazpacho recipes call for adding chunks of bread, soaked in water and then squeezed. I tried it, but never liked it much. Its purpose is to add body, and it does, but I never could get away from knowing I was eating mushy bread.

Then I came up with another idea.

Here’s my trick: Freeze a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, and add them to the blender at the last minute. These “tomato ice cubes” make the soup thick, in exactly the same way that ice cubes do for frozen daiquiris or frozen fruit does for your breakfast smoothie. And you’re eating pure tomato goodness, not bread.

Recipe from
Anna Bueno
, Bedford, Massachusetts

Serves 6

Anna says: I learned to cook from my mother. When I was growing up in Barcelona, we all went home for lunch from school, and I would watch her cook and she would teach me things. Just little things about whatever she was making at the time. No recipe, just talking.

One of the things we often had on hot summer days was a bowl of cold gazpacho. But sometimes, the strong aroma of the garlic and the onion was too much. A couple of years ago, while having a lovely dinner at home with some friends, one of the guests suggested adding some strawberries to the traditional gazpacho and using less garlic. I decided to try it, and I also reduced the usual amount of sweet red pepper and cucumber. The result was an incredibly refreshing, fruity gazpacho. Make sure you only use the freshest, highest-quality ingredients for this soup.

• 6 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped (about 4 cups)
  
• 4 cups hulled and sliced fresh strawberries
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  onion, finely chopped
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  bell pepper, red or green, seeded and chopped
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  garlic clove, minced
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₃
  cup olive oil
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup sherry wine vinegar
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

1. 1.
   Measure the chopped tomatoes. If you have more than 4 cups, slice additional strawberries to equal the volume of the tomatoes.
   
2. 2.
   Combine the tomatoes and strawberries in a blender, and add the onion, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend to a smooth consistency.
   
3. 3.
   Place the soup in a container, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight, allowing the flavors to blend. Serve very cold.
   

Make ahead?
It’s necessary; see step 3.

For large crowds:
This is a fine choice for large groups when gardens are overflowing with tomatoes.

Serves 6

The yogurt adds a pleasant tang — and protein — to this simple, refreshing summer soup.

• 4 cups chopped tomatoes, or tomato juice
  
• 2 cups plain yogurt
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup finely chopped celery
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• Chopped parsley or chives, for garnish
  

1. 1.
   Purée the tomatoes in a blender; strain. In a pinch (or in a different season), you can use canned tomato juice.
   
2. 2.
   Combine the tomato purée, yogurt, celery, and lemon juice. Taste the soup, and season with salt and pepper.
   
3. 3.
   Chill the soup for at least 1 hour; even overnight is fine. Serve very cold, garnished with parsley or chives.
   

Make ahead?
Yes; see step 3.

For large crowds:
As many multiples as you have fresh tomatoes; this is another good use for your rambunctious garden.

Greek-style yogurt, suddenly so popular and omnipresent in America, is nothing more than regular yogurt from which the excess water has been removed. Straining yogurt is easy to do yourself: Place a very fine sieve (or regular sieve lined with cheesecloth) over a bowl, pour in yogurt, and let it drain. When all the water that is going to drain away has done so, you’ll have about half the volume of yogurt you started with. And if you enjoy baking, save the whey; this nutritious yellowish liquid adds a tang to homemade bread and rolls that will remind you of sourdough.

Serves 6

On an unexpectedly chilly summer night, serve this delicious soup hot; otherwise, it’s splendid served cold.

• 4 red bell peppers
  
• 1 yellow bell pepper
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup diced onion
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• 1 potato, diced
  
• ²
  ⁄
  ₃
  cup tomato juice
  
• 3 cups water
  
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  

• Parsley, scallions, chives, or cilantro, finely chopped
  
• Parmesan Lace (
  page 37
  ), (2–3 pieces per serving)
  

1. 1.
   Roast 3 of the red bell peppers on your outdoor grill, stovetop burner, or under the broiler until the skin starts to bubble and blacken. Place the roasted peppers in a plastic bag for 5 to 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and seeds, and roughly chop the flesh.
   
2. 2.
   Remove the seeds from the remaining red bell pepper and the yellow bell pepper; dice and set aside for garnish.
   
3. 3.
   Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and sauté the onion, garlic, and potato for 1 minute. Add the tomato juice and water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the potato is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
   
4. 4.
   Place the tomato mixture, vinegar, and roasted red peppers in a blender and purée until smooth.
   
5. 5.
   Serve the soup hot or cold, depending on the weather and your whim. Garnish with the reserved bell peppers.
   

Shortcut:
Red peppers in a jar, already roasted and peeled, are available in most supermarkets — and are a whole lot easier to use.

Make ahead?
You bet.

For large crowds:
With its inexpensive and nutritious ingredients, this is an ideal choice for a summertime patio party.

Portland, Oregon

InCUBATE (Institute for Community Understanding Between Art and the Everyday) is a national, and now international, nonprofit that focuses on finding alternative ways to support the arts. One of their most popular programs is called Sunday Soup, in which individual communities provide micro-grants to local artists by hosting affordable suppers. As of 2012, there were 71 different Soup Supper groups around the world, most in the U.S. but also in Ukraine, South Africa, Spain, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

Everyone who attends buys a $10 meal ticket, local artists describe a project they would like to do, and the diners vote on their favorite. At the end of the evening, the winner is awarded the net proceeds from the dinner sales.

Each city decides for itself how to orchestrate the soup supper, but certain basics are the same: Everyone who attends buys a $10 meal ticket, local artists describe a project they would like to do, and the diners vote on their favorite. At the end of the evening, the winner is awarded the net proceeds from the dinner sales. Here are some numbers from 2012: The 71 groups around the world have awarded a total of $64,480 in micro-grants to local artists.

The Sunday Soup event in Portland, Oregon, is called Portland Stock. It’s a nice play on words:
stock
as in soup broth,
stock
as in an equity investment vehicle,
stock
as in “we who came tonight have a stake in this thing.” Portland Stock was started in 2009 by three women artists, all graduate students interested in what they term “socially engaged art.” They were also intrigued with the idea of using food and cooking as a way to create community, and decided a Portland version of Soup Supper could accomplish both.

The first diners sat on borrowed chairs and ate homemade soups out of flea-market bowls. Then the curator of the gallery at the local arts college offered his space — big tables, lots of chairs, and a real kitchen — and the event really took off. Now they attract about 100 people to the dinners, and have created a format that encourages — almost demands — conversation among the guests.

Here’s how it works: The candidate projects (always limited to 10) are described on large posters on the gallery walls. The guests study the posters, then take their place in the food lines and find a seat at one of the long tables. Because the tables are set for 10, it is almost inevitable that people end up sitting with folks they don’t know. During dinner, they discuss the 10 projects (a reminder sheet on each table summarizes the 10 proposals), and then vote for their favorite. The top three are announced, and the diners start another round of discussion.

The most recent past winner makes a brief presentation about her or his project, and often other prior winners circulate among the tables, talking about how much the grant meant to them and facilitating discussion of the final three. After a second vote, one person is named the winner and leaves with a bundle of cash. After expenses are recovered, the award is usually in the range of $500 to $600.

It’s not a huge amount of money, but it definitely helps. And the nonmonetary benefits are equally important. The organizers particularly note how valuable it is for the artists to learn to discuss their ideas with strangers, even if they don’t win. The benefit to the audience may be even greater. While many of them originally came to support a friend’s proposal, they usually end up experiencing something bigger: a roomful of interesting, engaged people who want to be part of supporting original art in all its shapes and forms.

To manage the meals, the planning team relies on a volunteer chef to create the menu and then they jump in as volunteer sous-chefs. The dinners, laid out buffet style, usually comprise two soups, several salads, breads, and desserts. In their first three years, they held a dozen dinners and awarded more than $6,500 in grants.

• Portlandstock.blogspot.com
  

• Cardamom Pavlova
  
• Ariana’s Pink Potato Salad
  

Serves 6

Patty and Bruce Wood’s deli on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula (see
page 198
) was as popular with full-time peninsula residents as with the beach-loving vacationers. They came up with this soup out of a desire to create something creamy without actual cream. Potatoes to the rescue. And by the way, it works just as well with broccoli as with tomatoes. We’re all accustomed to the idea that cream of tomato soup is hot, but this is also good cold.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
  
• 6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
  
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  
• 9 Roma tomatoes, chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
  
• Salt
  
• Chopped chives or parsley; or homemade croutons (
  page 248
  ), for garnish
  

1. 1.
   Heat the oil in a large soup pot, add the potatoes and onions, and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes.
   
2. 2.
   Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, sugar, and cayenne, and simmer until everything is tender.
   
3. 3.
   Transfer the soup to a blender (careful, it’s hot) and purée until smooth, and then return it to the pot. Or use an immersion blender and purée the soup right in the pot. Taste, and add salt as needed. Serve hot or cold with your choice of garnishes.
   

Variation:
To make a broccoli variation of this soup, cut broccoli florets small, remove the tough peel from the stem, and chop the stalks into small pieces. You want to end up with about 2 cups. Add the broccoli at the end of step 2, when the sautéed onion and potato are tender. Omit the tomatoes and tomato paste.

Make ahead?
Certainly. Time in the refrigerator chills this soup nicely, for serving cold. For hot soup, reheat slowly.

For large crowds:
A very economical and nourishing choice for a party. Add the extra cayenne slowly, tasting as you go.