Elegant Melon-Berry Refresher

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Sophisticated and practical at a blow, this small iced soup can open a beautiful dinner on a hot summer night--be served as a palate cleanser in between courses--or close a rich dinner as a dessert and digestif. Past contributor Lisa Gitelson has done it again: it's a doozie. She adapted it from a New York Times recipe--I've adapted it a little further. Serve to 4-6 people in small, fancy cups--crystal or porcelain are nice.

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• 1 small melon, cut into 1-inch cubes (making about 2 cups puree)
• 1 Tablespoon good grade honey
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1Tablespoon water
• 1 pint strawberries
• 1 very fine grinding of pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon balsamico vinegar
• ice water for thinning

Garnish: 4-6 small scoops of highest quality berry sorbet (don't skimp here!) and 4-6 fresh rasberries for garnish

Puree melon cubes with honey, salt, and water. Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Puree strawberries with pepper and balsamico. Strain, then pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.

When ready to serve, stir both purees and evaluate their consistency. Thin whichever one is thicker (usually the strawberries) with enough ice water to make it the same consistency as the other.

Measure a scant 1/4 cup of melon puree into each of the chilled cups, then measure a scant 1/4 cup of berry puree into the center of the melon puree. Swirl gently, then top each with a small scoop of puree topped with a rasberry.

Pear and Cambozola Soup

(adapted from John Bishop's Cook Book)

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Cool and complex, savory and sweet, light and rich--the kind of soup to be eaten slowly with closed eyes and elegant music in the background. Unfortunately, one spoonful and the impulse is to pick up the bowl and drink it down. Besides the manners issue, not a good idea...if you're watching your weight, your cholesterol, or your wallet, that is. Recommended to me by Canadian poet and novelist Jerry Newman, who says he's "crazy nutso" about it, could eat a bowl every day, and likes using different cheeses, including Parmesan. I agree on all 3 counts. Serve cold as a delicate first course to 8 people.

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• 1/4 cup clarified butter
• 3 onions, sliced
• 2 Tablespoons garlic, chopped
• 8 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1 cup white wine
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 8 ounces (220 grams) Cambozola (German cheese, soft-ripened, triple cream), rind trimmed away
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, finely ground (tightenen the grind screw!)

Garnish: a few chive pieces, crossed, and if it's springtime, one fresh violet per bowl.

In a large soup pot, melt the butter. Stir in onion, garlic, and pears and allow to sweat over medium-high heat until fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the wine, then stir in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Chop the cheese and stir in until it is completely melted into the broth. Puree, solids first. Whisk in the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Then chill in the refrigerator until cold.

When ready to serve, stir well, then ladle into bowls. Top each with a violet and a few cut pieces of chives.

Solid Soup

(a favorite of socialite Marylou Vanderbilt Whitney)

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It sounds like it should be easy to make and awful to eat. In fact, it's the reverse. Very tasty above and beyond the eyebrow-lifting presentation...but pretty tricky to get right. Serve cold, obviously, to 6 just as you're ready to signal the end of the cocktail hour, but before sweeping them into the dining room. The whole point, I think, is a sophisticated conceit: instead of moving into the drawing room after dinner to take demitasse coffee, you begin in the drawing room with what LOOKS like demitasse coffee as a prelude to the dinner.

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• 1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 10-and-1/2 ounce can of beef consomme (with gelatin added)

Garnish: 6 thin slices of stuffed green olives and 6 tiny parsley sprigs

Blend together the cream cheese, HALF the can of consomme, the curry powder, and the lemon juice. To get this right, I ended up whipping them together with electric beaters, then pouring that mess into the blender to really emulsify the cream. Pour into 6 demitasse cups about 2/3rds full. Refrigerate until set. This takes longer than you think it should--and even then the white cream burbles up when you go to pour on the top layer. I stuck the cups in the freezer for 30 minutes even after the soup had set to prevent ruining the whole presentation.

Pour the remaining consomme onto the top of each of the 6 cups--and don't pour it on directly. Get a spoon that nearly covers the entire cup area, turn it over, and gently pour the consomme over the back of the spoon. Put back in the refrigerator and chill until firm.

When ready to serve, decorate each solid soup with a thin slice of stuffed olive and a tiny sprig of parsley. Put the cups on saucers and serve with a linen napkin and demitasse spoon.

Cool Hungarian Sour Cherry Soup

(Meggy leves)

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I had kinda put this one off for a while, thinking it was going to be offputtingly odd. Not at all--in fact, it was downright fresh and appealing--and had me sneaking into the fridge for secret spoonsful. Traditionally it's served as an appetizer--and for good reason. The tart-sweet-heady combination is just like an aperitif. But I think it would be a wonderful minimalist dessert as well after a rich meal. I'm citing two versions here--one richly authentic with Hungarian red wine (if you can get it); one not as subtle, but ridiculously easy and fast to make. Serve cool to cold to 4-6 people in small portions. But they may ask for another round....

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SOUP #1--NUANCED AND TRADITIONAL

• 2 cups water
• 1 pound fresh sour cherries, washed and pitted, reserving pits
• 2 cloves
• small piece of cinnamon stick
• 1/3 cup dry red wine (ideally from Eger)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/3 cup superfine sugar (just whirl regular sugar in a blender or food processor)
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/3 cup light cream

Garnish: sweet cream

Bring the water to boil in a saucepan and stir in cherries, then reduce heat. Wrap the cherry pits in cheesecloth, pound them a couple times to break the stones, put the cloves and cinnamon stick into the cheesecloth too, then tie up and add to the pot. Stir in the wine, lemon juice sugar, and salt. Cook for 10 minutes. Dip out half the cherries and reserve, then puree the rest of the soup. Return the reserved cherries to the soup and bring the soup to a simmer. Mix the egg yolk into the cream and whisk into the soup, stirring til it thickens. Don't reboil! Let the soup cool, then remove the spice bag and refrigerate.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and splash each portion with cream.

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SOUP #2--THE EASY COP-OUT

• 2 1-pound cans of sour, pitted cherries, undrained
• 1 cup sour cream ("lite" is fine)
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar (which you can make in a blender or food processor)
• 1/4 cup tawny port or cream sherry

Garnish: Just a spritz of sugar on top.

Whisk the cherry juice, sour cream, sugar, and wine in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the cherries. Chill for 3-4 hours.

When ready to serve, ladle into small bowls and just flick a little superfine sugar over each one. Serve immediately with silver spoons.

Russian Sour Cherry Soup

(Sup iz Vishni)

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Luxurious, totally refreshing, you'll think you're the Tsar or Tsarina of old Russia at a soirée. This is such a pretty soup from 19th century Russia, with pools of crème fraîche puddling the warm blush of a peach-rose colored soup laced with champagne. Plus so interestingly sweet sour with just the right bit of tender sour cherries on your teeth. Serve cold to 6 people as a first course or for dessert.

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• 2 pounds fresh sour cherries, pitted--reserving both the pits and 1 cup of the pitted cherries (canned cherries are okay in a pinch, but really not the same thing at all)
• 3 cloves
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 1 and 1/3 cups water
• 2 cups champagne
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• grated zest of 1 orange

Garnish: crème fraîche

Wrap the cherry pits in cheesecloth and whack them with a pestle or hammer to break them; then add the cinnamon stick and cloves, secure the bag with a twisty, and put in a saucepan with the cherries (except for the reserved ones), water, champagne, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes, when the cherries will be very soft.

Remove the cheesecloth bag and puree the soup, solids first. Return to the pot with the cheescloth bag, the reserved cherries, the orange juice, lemon juice, and grated orange zest, and reheat on low, removing the pot when the cherries just begin to soften and the broth begins to boil. Cool, then remove the cheesecloth bag and refrigerate.

When ready to serve, ladle into soup plates and spoon pools of crème fraîche onto the surface of each.

The Cucumber Soup the Soup Nazi Wishes For

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And this is no joke. The personal creation of Jeri Held--California publicist for motion pictures, amateur chef, and owner of Featuremedia (a San Diego- based PR/publicity firm that handles start ups, blue chips, and e-commerce)--this cold cucumber soup takes the classic Tarator to a new and deliciously subtle level. It's cool, light but satisfying, and is one of those soups that you can just live on. Jeri says the recipe grew from a desire to eat healthy and use up a bushel of cukes someone gave her. This is one you definitely want to have on hand in the fridge at all times. Serve cold to 6 as a first course...or, selfishly, just eat the whole thing yourself.

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• 4 large cucumbers, chopped
• half a bunch of mint, ripped up (about 1/4-1/2 cup)
• dash of fresh dill
• 1 chicken bouillon cube (or teaspoon of chicken soup base) melted in 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 cup half-and-half (very light cream)
• salt to taste
• 3-4 teaspoons sugar

Garnish: dollops of sour cream and mint sprigs

Blend all ingredients in a blender in small batches, then whisk together, retaste for seasoning, and refrigerate for a couple hours. When ready to serve, whisk briefly, ladle into bowls, top each with a dollop of sour cream and a mint sprig. In Jeri's words, "ecstasy!"

French Ratatouille Soup

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This soup version of the classic Provencal dish is good hot or cold, pureed or not, as a first course or a meal. Talk about a soup for all seasons. And even the fussiest eaters like it pureed...so long as you don't tell them that eggplant is in it. Serve to 4-6 people, depending on whether it's to be a meal or a hearty first course.

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• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 small eggplant, chopped (about a cup)
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped (you can also substitute green or red)
• 2 pounds fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil, sliced fine
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt (ideally, sea salt, that great sel de mer from France)
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: balsamico vinegar and shreds of fresh basil

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic in the oil for about 3 minutes over medium heat, then toss in the eggplant, zucchini, and pepper and saute, stirring from time to time, another 5 minutes.

Cut in the tomatoes with their juice and stir. Stir in the basil, thyme, stock, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

If you are going to serve the soup hot and chunky, ladle it into bowls immediately. Spoon a little balsamic vinegar over each serving and sprinkle with fresh basil.

If you'd like to serve it as a puree, ladle the solids into the blender first, then thin with the broth. You can serve it hot immediately--or chill and serve it cold. In all cases, garnish each bowl at serving time with a dribble of balsamico and fresh basil shreds.

The soup is also good as a chunky cold soup--it's nicely substantial for a refreshing summer lunch.

Cold and Tangy Red Pepper Soup

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Thick and earthy and gorgeously burnt orange, this is a beautiful, refreshing, and satisfying soup. It has the taste of roasted red peppers times a thousand, without the work of roasting off the skins. And it has a real bang at the finish from the cayenne. Thanks to good friend Judy Irons for this great addition. Serve cold as a substantial first course to 4-6 people.

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• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 and 1/2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cored, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups leeks, white and pale green parts, sliced
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
• cayenne pepper to taste
• salt and pepper

Garnish: chives or minced scallion tops

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat, toss in the peppers and leeks and saute for a few minutes, then reduce heat and continue cooking until tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

When the vegetables are very tender, puree the soup in a blender, solids first. Return to the saucepan and cook at a low simmer for about 30 more minutes.

Pour in the buttermilk and season immediately with cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. Remember that you should overseason a little bit for cold soups. Chill at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with chives.

Tomato-Fennel Soup

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A smooth, heady first course with a whiff of licorice; serve hot or cold to 6 people.

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• 1 15-oz. tin of tomatoes, chopped, with juice
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 cups fennel, chopped, reserving lacy tops
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch of hot red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste

Garnish: Anisette or pernod and fennel fronds

Mix tomatoes and juice, stock, chopped fennel, wine, onion, garlic, salt, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Add tomato paste and boil hard for a few minutes to concentrate flavors. Puree, then press through a sieve, discarding solids.

This soup can be served either hot or cold. If you're serving it hot, reheat, ladle into bowls, then stir in 1/2 teaspoon of anisette or pernod into each bowl and top with a lacy fennel frond.

If you're serving the soup cold, season a little more highly, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, stir in 1/2 teaspoon of anisette or pernod into each bowl and top with a lacy fennel frond. You might also chop some raw fennel into a fine dice and sprinkle into each serving, to give some crunch to it.

Gazpacho Blanco

(Spanish)

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Cool, bracing, and many layered--with the sweet fruitiness of the grapes balanced by the savory vegetables and cooled by the yoghurt. Then there's that little earthy bit of toasted almond garnish that just sets the whole thing off. A really nice, palate-cleansing cold soup. Serve to 4-6 people as a first course.

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• 1 pound seedless white grapes, stemmed
• 3 cucumbers, seeded and chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups yoghurt (low fat is fine)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• hot pepper sauce to taste (maybe 8 drops or so)

Garnish: white seedless grapes, halved, and sliced almonds, toasted

Puree the grapes in a blender, then strain out the skins and return the juice to the blender.

Add the cucumber, shallot, and garlic, and puree. Blend in the yoghurt. Season with salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Refrigerate until cold. Serve when ready.

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Lime-Cucumber Soup with a Kick It's cold, it's hot; it's sweet, it's sour; it's laced with tequila and served cold to 4 people. Surprisingly clear and refreshing...but not for the faint of heart. zest of 2 limes, finely grated juice of 2 juicy limes 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped 2 big cucumbers, peeled and chopped 2 cups seedless green grapes 4 green onions, chopped 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 1/2 cup green or yellow pepper, chopped 1/4 cup tequila Garnish: finely minced cucumber and the green of green onions Puree everything together but the tequila and the garnish, then press through a sieve. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Then, stir in the tequila, ladle into bowls, and sprinkle each with the cucumber and green onion.

Old World Rasberry Soup

(A German recipe)

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Many thanks to CarolDee Whitbeck, from upstate New York, who contributed this wonderful and somehow wonderfully old fashioned soup. She pulled it out of her recipe archives, saying, "it was given to me about 25 years ago by a wonderful old German lady who I fondly referred to as Oma. When my children were little they thought that Rasberry Soup was the most special treat going. The soup can be served ice cold in the summer and hot in the winter." I agree. It's a perfect balance of sweet and tart--warm and comforting in the cold months, a lovely start to a meal of roasted or pot roasted meat and winter vegetables. In the summer, it's cool and stimulating as the start of grilled meal from the barbeque. Serve hot or cold as a first course to 4 people.

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• 2 cups rasberries
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3 Tablespoons tapioca

Garnish: 4 reserved rasberries and a little curl of lemon peel

In a medium saucepan, bring the rasberries, water, sugar, and lemon to a boil and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour through a strainer or Foley food mill to remove the rasberry seeds, then return to the heat, adding the vanilla and tapioca. Cook until thick.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with the reserved rasberries and lemon zest. If serving cold, allow to chill in the refrigerator.

Salsa Soup

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This fine Mexican soup is served cold as a first course--with tortilla chips--to 6 people.

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• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 4 pounds of tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 2 15-oz. cans)
• 4 teaspoons lime juice

Garnish: Avocado cream; green onion curls or chopped cilantro; tortilla chips

In a large saucepan, saute the onions, carrots, and garlic in the oil over medium heat until soft--about 10 minutes. Mix in the salt and cayenne. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add tomatoes, and cook for 10 minutes. Cool slightly, then puree and refrigerate.

When ready to serve, stir in lime juice, adjust seasoning, and ladle into bowls. Gently spoon in the avocado cream and top with the onion or cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.

To make avocado cream: Blend 2 ripe avocados with 2/3 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 4 teaspoons lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Gazpacho,
with a Texan Touch

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This excellent variation of the Spanish "pureed salad" classic was sent to me by Marty Beard, a Communications grad student at Stanford U. who sweet-talked Austin, TX, columnist Jane Grieg into getting the recipe from a local Austin restaurant. With a little adaptation, it's gazpacho with a little bit of the dark side--more complex and shaded than standard, very satisfying and fullbodied. Serve cold to 4-6 people as a refreshing and ample first course. Thanks again, Marty!

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• 1 28-ounce can tomatoes with juice (or 4 cups tomatoes, peeled, and 1 cup tomato juice)
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 stalk celery, with leaves, chopped
• ¼ onion, chopped
• ½ teaspoon garlic
• ½ teaspoon thyme, minced
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1½ teaspoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 5 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 scant Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 8 ice cubes

Garnish: 1 thin slice cucumber per bowl

Place all ingredients except the ice cubes in a blender and puree until smooth. Chill in the blender until you are ready to serve.

When ready to serve, add the ice cubes and re-blend. This should give the soup a quick and unusual slush. Pour the soup into bowls and float a slice of cucumber on top of each

Iced Summer Shrimp Soup

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Cool, clean, tart, and stimulating, that's this soup, some interesting combination of Turkish Cacik and Polish Chlodnik--and so lovely in presentation. Recipe contributor Ruth Long clipped it from The Washington Post back in the 1970s and has served it to acclamation in many different countries while entertaining throughout her family's life in the foreign service. Serve as a first course on a hot summer day to 6.

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• 2 hard cooked eggs, cut into a fine dice
• 3/4 cup golden raisins, plumped for 3 minutes in hot water, then steeped in ice water for 5 minutes
• 3 cups plain yogurt, whipped smooth
• 1 and 1/2 cups ice water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into a fine dice
• 3 green onions, sliced lengthwise then chopped finely
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 large ice cubes

Garnish: 1/2 pound shrimp, boiled til red, peeled, deveined and iced in the refrigerator; parsley and dill, chopped fine

Start your preparations by hard boiling the eggs. Then start the raisins plumping in hot water to cover. By the time you are assembling the soup, these will be ready for adding.

In a large bowl, whipped the yogurt til smooth, then whisk in the cold water and cream. Dice then stir in the cucumber and green onions. Dice and the eggs. Cool the raisins in ice water, then add them. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Float the ice cubes in the soup and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally all day.

Boil the shrimp in a few seasonings, shell, devein, and refrigerate to get ice cold.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls. Sprinkle a little dill and minced parsley on top. Slice the shrimp lengthwise and arrange color side up in a decorative pattern in each bowl.