3 cold soup recipes to survive the heat

If you are used to recipes Loseyou definitely know my motto when it comes to food : ease, speed, flavor – an imaginary word that perfectly complements the national anthem of my kitchen.

Out of respect for these three principles, I therefore spent this summer enduring heat waves by hydrating myself with cold soups. Here are my three favorite recipes, which can be used to fill up a little peckish, precede a plate of stuffed eggplant or accompany onigirazus on a picnic.

Cold basil and strawberry tomato soup

Ingredients for 4 people

• 5 large tomatoes (or 4 steak tomatoes)
• 300 grams of strawberries
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (more or less, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
• Salt, pepper, olive oil, some cayenne or Espelette if you like
• a few leaves of fresh basil (about ten)
• A few pine nuts

Recipe for cold tomato and basil strawberry soup

• Boil the water and put the tomatoes for about 30 seconds in boiling water. This will allow you to peel them more easily.
• Coarsely chop your tomatoes and put them in the blender
• Wash, peel and coarsely chop your strawberries
• Blend everything until you get a smooth soup.
• In the blender, add the balsamic vinegar, lemon, sugar, seasoning (salt, pepper, chilli if applicable) and two or three basil leaves.
• Stir again and put your soup in the fridge for a few hours
• Serve adding a few pine nuts, a drizzle of olive oil and a basil leaf for seasoning

Cold courgette and mint soup

Ingredients for 4 people

• 4 large courgettes
• 1 shallot
• 1 clove of garlic
• about 20 fresh mint leaves
• Salt, pepper, olive oil, thyme
• 200 grams of fresh cheese according to your preferences and the contents of your refrigerator (Chavroux, ricotta, goat’s log or fresh crottin … everything will be fine!)

Cold zucchini and mint soup recipe

• Wash, then cut your courgettes into slices. Reserve
• Clean and coarsely chop the shallot and the garlic clove
• In a pan, sauté the shallot and the garlic clove in olive oil over medium heat. After a minute, add your courgettes.

• When the courgettes begin to brown, cover them with water and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Put the zucchini in the blender
• Add the cream cheese, a handful of mint leaves, salt, pepper, a tablespoon of olive oil and thyme to your liking
• Blend everything until you get a smooth soup. Put it in the fridge for a few hours (at least three) before serving, and use one or two mint leaves per serving for seasoning.

Cold red pepper soup

Ingredients for 4 people

• 3 red peppers
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 200 grams of feta
• 500 milliliters of vegetable broth (homemade or diced)
• 1 sprig of thyme and a bay leaf
• Condiments: salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Tabasco or Espelette pepper (if you like)

Cold red pepper soup recipe

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees

• Cut your peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, and cover them with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
• Place the peppers in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the skin turns black and blisters form
• To peel peppers there is a grandmother’s technique which consists in putting them in a hermetically sealed plastic bag (and from which the air has been expelled) as soon as they come out of the oven. She waits about twenty minutes and pull them out – at best, most of the skin should be stuck to the plastic bag. In the worst case, it will still be very easy to peel.
• In a saucepan, brown the yellow onion and the garlic clove, then add your red peppers. Cover with your vegetable broth, add the sprig of thyme and the bay leaf and cook for ten minutes over low heat.
• Put everything in a blender (or blend with an immersion blender), add salt, pepper and Tabasco or Espelette pepper to your liking. You can also add a teaspoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
• Mix everything until you get a smooth soup and leave it for at least three hours in the refrigerator
• When ready to serve, you can add a few cubes of feta for seasoning

Photo credit: Karolina Kolodziejczak, Megan Bucknall, Sarah Dubler / Unsplash