Norwegian Star chefs share popular cucumber soup

Advertiser Staff

"Couldn't you print some recipes for cold soups?" the caller asked. "It's so hoooooot."

The Advertiser gets lots of phone calls from readers who want to see a particular type of recipe but this one struck a chord: It has been awfully warm, and cold soup just sounded darn good.

The caller mentioned that her friend had recently tasted wonderful cold soups aboard the Norwegian Star. Here's a recipe we got from the chefs aboard that cruise ship.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

• 3 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped,
• Plus 1 cup peeled, seeded, and finely diced cucumber
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon English-style dry mustard, or to taste
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• Fresh lemon juice, to taste
• Cucumber slices, dill sprigs, for garnish

In a blender, puree chopped cucumbers, yogurt, sour cream, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste, and transfer to a bowl. Chill soup, covered. Before serving, stir in finely diced cucumber, dill and lemon juice. Garnish soup with cucumber slices, and dill sprigs.

Yield: 5 cups.

Here are some master recipes so you can create your own cold soups.

Sweet fruit soups: Fruit soups, which can be served as a first course or as a dessert, follow a predictable pattern in which the fruit is poached briefly in a flavorful "broth" (water, wine and/or stock with lemon, spices, sugar and other flavorings). The fruity broth is then slightly thickened with cornstarch, arrowroot or flour and enriched with cream, yogurt or even softened cream cheese. Finally, it's chilled and served.

Here's an example from Kathy Casey's "Pacific Northwest, the Beautiful Cookbook," made with the Bing cherries that are in stores now. Canned sour pie cherries (the ones in a thin syrup, not the ones already thickened) could be substituted, but taste for sweetness. Casey recommends this as a first course for a roast chicken dinner.

Chilled Bing Cherry Soup

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup muscat or sweet reisling wine
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 peppercorns, crushed
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cups pitted Bing cherries
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 6 tablespoons sour cream

Combine water, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and spices in stockpot and bring to a boil. Add cherries and boil again. Meanwhile whisk together cornstarch and water. Whisk cornstarch blend into cherry mixture. Cover and remove from heat. Allow to steep 30 minutes. Strain cherries out, reserving both the liquid and the cherries. Discard whole spices. Select 18 whole cherries for garnish and mash or puree the remainder. Stir mashed cherries back into soup. Pour into lidded container and chill. Serve well chilled in cold bowls, garnish with whole cherries and a swirl of sour cream.

Savory vegetable soups: A rich, indulgent cold soup can be made with almost any vegetable using the following master recipe adapted from Stephen Schmidt's excellent reference work, "Master Recipes" (Fawcett, 1987). The vegetables are sauteed briefly with onions and a little flour, steamed in hot broth, pureed and then the soup is finished with cream and egg yolks.

•

Vegetables* Artichokes (bottoms only, trimmed and steamed first) 1 1/4 lbs. asparagus 2 1/2-3 cups broccoli 2 cups cabbage (packed, shredded) 2 medium potatoes 1 lb. carrots 1 cauliflower (small head) 6-8 ribs celery 5-6 fresh ears corn 2 lbs. cucumber 1 lb. fennel 2 pounds peas (shelled, or 3 cups frozen) 1 lb. Jerusalem artichoke 1 lb. kohlrabi 1 lb. lettuce (Boston or bib), 12 oz. mushrooms 4 cups onion (minced) 1 lb. spinach 1 lb. swiss chard 2 lbs. tomato (very ripe) 1 1/4 lbs. watercress 1 1/4 lbs.winter squash or pumpkin

• Vegetables*, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (see list, right)
• 3-6 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup minced onions
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 quart stock (chicken or vegetable)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream or yogurt
• 2 egg yolks (can be omitted)
• 1-2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or chives
• Lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Herbs and spices to taste
• Sour cream, cream or yogurt for garnish

Melt butter in large noncorrosive saucepan or dutch oven and saute onions over low heat until soft but not browned. Add vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and stir to coat. Cover pan and cook over low heat until slightly softened. Sprinkle vegetables with flour, stirring occasionally to prevent lumps. Cook slowly, 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, heat stock to just below simmering. Remove vegetable mixture from heat and stir in hot stock or broth. Bring soup to a rapid simmer over moderately high heat for 1 minute; reduce heat to low, partially cover pan and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water or stock if the soup appears to be reducing.

Puree the soup in small batches in a food mill, blender or food processor. In the rinsed-out soup pot, beat together heavy cream and egg yolks with a wire whisk; slowly add 2 cups of hot soup, beating constantly until incorporated, then add remaining soup and stir to combine.

Heat soup over low heat until the soup begins to steam and to thicken slightly. Do NOT allow soup to simmer or boil or it will be grainy. Season soup to taste with salt, pepper and appropriate spices or herbs and a few drops of lemon juice to sharpen flavors.

Allow soup to cool slightly, pour into lidded storage container and chill 4 hours or up to three days. Just before serving, taste and check seasonings, stir in half the parsley or chives, reserving the rest for garnish.

Serve soup in chilled bowls or glasses topped with a swirl or dollop of sour cream, cream or yogurt and a sprinkling of parsley or chives.

Low-fat vegetarian version: Omit butter and saute onions in defatted vegetable stock. Use yogurt instead of cream and omit egg yolks (natural, regular yogurt is best; low-fat and nonfat, made with gelatin or agar, melt and are too thin). The soup will not be quite so thick but will still be delicious.