World Cultures

     Intrigued by the concept of chilled soup I went on line recently to look for a recipe using cherries.  I enlisted the assistance of a great website, Epicurious.com, and found just what I was looking for.  Then, on a trip out to the Green Dragon Farmers' Market one Friday I picked up the necessary ingredients and was ready to give it a try.

     After sampling some, my Executive Soup Taste Tester, Al Novack, commented that the final product was nothing like the cold cherry soup his German mother used to make.  He then did some background research to discover that there are numerous different cultural variations on the theme.  He mentioned to me of a French style that incorporates wine into the mix.  There are also Polish and Hungarian variants as well.  It seems that each European culture has their own take on cold cherry soup.  I was amazed at Al's findings and appreciated his scholarship.

     The recipe that I used is found in The Vegetarian Cookbook written by Dana Shaw.  Here it is for you to try:

Cold Cherry Soup

1 cup loosely packed dried apples

2 pounds cherries, pitted and chopped

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 cups buttermilk

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

    

     Place the dried apples and cherries in a medium saucepan with water to cover by an inch.  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Simmer until the apples and cherries are soft enough to puree, about 30 minutes.

 

     Puree with a food processor and return to low heat.  Transfer 1/4 cup of the puree to a separate bowl and whisk in the cornstarch until the mixture is smooth.  Whisking constantly, pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan.  Continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 7 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

 

     Stir in the buttermilk, cover, and chill thoroughly, at least 3 hours.  Ladle the soup into 4 bowls and sprinkle each serving with lime juice.