Soups are often the dish we turn to for a comfort meal, especially in winter, but cold soups can be very refreshing in summer and work well with the best of the season’s produce, such as sun-ripened tomatoes or cucumber and even avocado pear.
The Persian yoghurt soup is very different from what you would expect from a soup but it is one of the most refreshing soups I have tried. The chickpea soup is the perfect autumn soup, healthy and light.
Chilled Persian yoghurt soup
Serves 6-8
125ml pistachio nuts
500ml Greek yoghurt
375ml ice water
30ml pine nuts
125ml dried cranberries, chopped
½ cucumber, peeled, deseeded and diced
60ml chopped fresh mint
60ml chopped fresh dill
60ml chopped chives
salt and pepper
Garnish
ground sumac
dried rose petals (optional)
pomegranate rubies
extra pine nuts
micro herbs
Preheat oven to 180degC.
Place the pistachio nuts on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove, cool and roughly chop
In a large bowl, whisk the yoghurt with the ice water. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and the cooled pistachios. Refrigerate until very cold, about 1 hour. Serve in shallow soup bowls garnished with a sprinkling of sumac, rose petals, pomegranate rubies, pine nuts and micro herbs.
Serve with slices of Turkish bread.
Smoky chickpea and veg soup
Serves 6-8
30ml olive oil
125g streaky bacon, roughly chopped
1 onion, chopped
5ml chopped garlic
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 sticks of celery, chopped
3 courgettes, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1.5 litres of vegetables stock
400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
200g baby spinach
125ml grated Parmesan
Heat half the oil in a saucepan, add the bacon and cook for a few minutes, until starting to brown.
Add the remaining oil and fry the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, courgettes and potatoes for 10 minutes. Add the stock, chickpeas and tomatoes, salt and pepper.
Bring the soup to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the spinach and cook for a further 5 minutes, until wilted. Add Parmesan and serve.
Angela Day, Sunday Tribune