For this sweltering heat, chilled or cold soups are perfect and are in fact wholesome meals. We are used to hot bowl of soup but let’s try this chilled one for such a hot season. Usually chilled soups are thicker in consistency than hot soups and more like a smoothie. The cold soups with minimal ingredients are apt for this season.
Mostly dahi or yogurt based dishes are preferred by us due to their cooling effects. Try chilled cucumber soup with chaat masala for Indian taste and this will go perfectly with salad meal. The cold soups may not be in trend now but these are very healthy and nutritious. Till now we always preferred hot soups. In fact, a soup is always considered as hot which must be changed. This is a complete meal itself and if people become more open minded, more dishes can be added to the menu. Try everything from creamy cucumber to tangy gazpacho.
Various Cold Soups
Cold soups can have variations of the traditional soups in summers. By farmers or village shepherds, these were made but they couldn’t cook it in the usual way and so they became a part of formal cuisine during 20th century but now these belong to elegant food menus round the globe.
Basically there are two kinds of soups, i.e., fruit and savory. Savory soups are usually served as an appetizer and cooked with vegetables. These are chilled versions of hot soups and are easy to make. The cream of vegetable is the simplest of all which consists of potato or broccoli which are roasted or boiled and pureed and then chilled. Beans also can be used for this. If you want to add sweetness to it, then try it with strawberry. Blend pureed strawberry pieces, milk and cream well, add some sugar, chill it overnight and serve cold. How about asparagus soup? Make it with boiled potatoes and lemon juice, olive oil and asparagus. Peel, cube and then boil the potatoes, add the stock and asparagus cool it down and puree it. Now add lemon juice and olive oil, refrigerate and serve cold.
The most popular, Gazpacho
Gazpacho is the best example of Spanish cold soups. These are found in few variations among which tomato based is the most popular one which had tomatoes, bread, garlic, olive oil, pepper and some water. Al the vegetables and bread are made into paste and tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar are added. These days shrimp, watermelon and drill are also being used. Cold mango gazpacho is quite ideal in hot summers.
So, summer is the perfect time to try these chilled soups especially the popular gazpachos. These are a must try this season and everyone should come out of the thought that soups are always meant to be hot.