The perfect soup for a hot, Arizona summer evening? Could it possibly exist?
Actually it does! A cold soup. Look to Andalusia, Spain for this classic tomato and vegetable soup!
I love cooking soups and stews. I love the long cook times, the flavors melding and making the house smell good. But what am I supposed to do when its 115°F outside and I don't even want to be in the kitchen? This classic cold soup from Spain is the answer.
Gazpacho can be described as summertime in a bowl. Wonderful ingredients that are at their peak during the warm summer months. Originally a laborers' dish made with tomatoes, cucumbers and other summer vegetables and originally thickened with stale bread, this soup can almost be described as a liquid salad! In fact some areas of Spain do call it that!
The gazpacho most people think of is the traditional red gazpacho, made with nice, ripe tomatoes. But in other areas of Spain, where tomatoes may not be as good, or in seasons when fresh tomatoes are not available, there is a white gazpacho that is made with grapes and almonds.
These aren't the only two popular cold soups in the world, however. The French have vichyssoise, which is a thick soup made of boiled and puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock. It's traditionally served cold, but some restaurants do serve it warm.
Borscht is also another soup that has both a hot and cold version. While both contain beets as their primary ingredient, hot borscht typically contains meat simmered in it, while the cold version is just vegetables.
But cold soups don't have to be just savory. My little brother's favorite soup is mango cream soup. Pureed mangoes, cream, ginger and mint. It's quite refreshing! There are many cold fruit soups that work as well for an appetizer as they do for a dessert during the hot summer months.
For a pretty good list of cold soups, have a look at Wikipedia's page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cold_soups.
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