“I’M SICK OF SOUP OF THE DAY. IT’S TIME WE MADE A DECISION. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT SOUP FROM NOW ON IS.” Mitch Hedberg
Well I know what soup I’m having from now on! I may not know the flavor, but I can tell you it’s going to be chilled! This is really a lightly sweet, summer dessert soup. Just a few small ladles in a shallow bowl or dish is perfect. I topped this with a savory honey and lemon mascarpone cheese and adorned it with a couple of toasted cream cheese pound cake croutons. Okay….I won’t lie. I had this for lunch after I took the picture! Well someone had to eat it!!! And it was delicious!!! Now don’t get me wrong. I love ………
…..a steaming hot bowl of soup as well as a cold gazpacho! But this was awesome. I added enough spice to give it more notes. And the dollop of mascarpone, especially as you swirl it around your soup makes it taste quite rich. And the croutons add a bit of texture. The only thing I may do next time is to toss a few fresh berries around the plate for added support. But this was delish just the way it was!
SOUP:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
3 cardamom pods
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp almond extract
splash of cassis, optional
Bring all ingredients to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally, pressing the blueberries with your spoon or potato masher. Remove from heat and let it sit to cool for 20 minutes or so before you blend it. Add the almond extract and cassis at this point. Fish out the cinnamon stick and star anise. Pour cooled soup into blender and puree. Strain through a sieve and pour into a container and chill. When it’s time to serve, dollop honey lemon mascarpone on top and garnish with toasted cream cheese pound cake croutons.
HONEY LEMON MASCARPONE
8 oz mascarpone cheese
3 TBSP cream
2 TBSP honey
zest and juice of half a lemon
Combine all in a bowl by hand. Refrigerate until ready to garnish.
CROUTONS:
Cut your Cream Cheese Pound Cake into any shapes you desire. Cookies cutters work well or you can cut them into cubes. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with a little melted butter. Sprinkle with demerara sugar or a mix of sugar and brown sugar and broil for a minute or two.
Enjoy!
You mean, you ate this all to yourself without anyone else seeing it? You are quite right! This looks absolutely fabulous, full of gorgeous flavours and so healthy, too. I’d adore this at any time of day in the summer. Love your starry croutons.
Jill….it’s always nice to eat what you have photographed….it’s in a pretty bowl, looking all fussy. We deserve it after all! I’m coming over to look at your fields of strawberry macarons! : )
This looks delicious. The combo of the soup with the creamy mascarpone sounds fantastic
Janet…thanks for your kind words. I always LOVE the combination of sweet and savory! Congrats on your multiple top 9′s! : )
What an awesome soup idea. I don’t believe I’ve come across something like this yet. I love soup and I love berries, so I’m guessing I should love this! The honey lemon mascarpone and pound cake croutons also sound scrumptious. I think I’m going to have to pop outside my box and try this.
Thanks for sharing and enlightening me. Have you tried this with any other berry variation?
Russell….just a few small ladles is all you need. It’s pretty refreshing! I haven’t done it with any other berries yet. But I’ve seen recipes for other fruit soups, such as watermelon gazpacho that I’m dying to try! Let me know if you try it with any other berries and how it works out for you! And thanks for your lovely comments! : )
Blueberry soup – I am liking the sound of this.
Shaheen! I love your blog! What creative and eclectic recipes you have! And your photography is gorgeous! : )
Everything about this screams summer! Random… I made a blueberry pie yesterday (with lemon and ground cardamom!).
Happy Tuesday!!!
Happy Tuesday Tiffany! I would LOVE to taste your blueberry pie! I love lemon and cardamom added to just about anything! : )
This is the soup I need and want now! Yummy!
Angie….I’m sure you could jazz this up appropriately! I hope you try it! : )
Wow this is my very first time seeing blueberry becoming a chilled soup! I LOVE IT! Perfect for summer time… I still trying to figure out how it tastes like. I’m so intrigued!!! I love your creativity . Honey lemon mascarpone is a nice tough too!
Nami….you should try chilled fruit soups! They are a great summer dessert. Tho…..I ate mine for lunch! Thanks for your kind comments! : )
What a wonderful resource for Adam’s sweet tooth you are! This recipe is right at the top of the summer menus. We’ve never had anything like it – the closest would be a watermelon gazpacho we had recently – but that will be remedied very shortly, I can assure you! YUM!
Hi Cheryl….I think watermelon gazpacho is on my list of things to get to before the summer is over! Hope you guys have a GREAT weekend! : )