Quick Gazpacho

Cold soups are all the rage at our place in Summer – the hot Summer days of over 35C, often over 40C, demand cooling foods, yet we still want them to be nourishing and healthy. In our garden there are often tomatoes to spare, and so making Gazpacho, that Spanish delicious cold soup, makes such sense.

This is a quick version, takes no more than the time it takes to wash the tomatoes and peel the cucumber. I like these ratios, but nothing is fixed and you can play around with this delicious blender formula. Add a few herbs, lemon instead of vinegar, a small amount of fresh green or red chilli. Enjoy yourself as you make variations on this theme.

Are you looking for cold soups? Try this quick Tomato and Cucumber Cold Soup, Chilled Beetroot Soup, and Roast Tomato and Corn Cold Soup.

What about Cucumber recipes? Try Cucumber Salad with Ricotta and Capers, Cucumber Raita, and Cucumber Lassi.

Try these Tomato recipes – Red Pepper and Tomato Salad with Crispy Flatbread, Chilli and Lime, Italian Tomato Sauce, and Tomato and Peach Salad.

You can browse all of our Cold Soup recipes, all of our Tomato recipes, and all of our Cucumber recipes. Have a look at our Tomato Soups, Cucumber Soups, or all of our Soups, hot and cold. Or take some time to browse our Late Summer dishes.

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South Indian Beetroot Soup

The concept of soup in South India is unusual but not unknown. Even Meenakshi Ammal and Priya Ramkumar covered them in the classic books Cook and See. I have not been able to trace the origins of South Indian Soups – perhaps the British occupation – and many people that I ask deny their existence. But no, they are part of the cuisine, albeit a limited part, and I have been served them in India on several occasions.

Indian soups are basically un-spiced thin but flavoursome broths, with perhaps the addition of some cubed vegetables. This one is from Priya Ramkumar herself, in Vol 4 of Cook and See, and is a beetroot soup that extracts the flavour and colour of beetroot for the soup without including the vegetable. It is surprisingly delicious! I was quite amazed by the flavour of this soup and it has become a favourite. And why would you make soups any differently in a country that produces so many thick, nourishing, soupy, spicy dishes that are eaten as an accompaniment to rice?

Are you after similar Soups? Try Chilled Beetroot Soup and Quick Gazpacho. Or some Beetroot recipes include Beetroot with Yoghurt-Tahini Dressing, Roast Beetroot with Cumin, and Warm Beetroot and Carrot Salad.

Or perhaps some Indian Soups? Try South Indian Spring Onion Soup, South Indian Cauliflower Soup, Light Summery Tomato Soup, South Indian Baby Corn Soup, and Amaranth and Tamarind Soup.

Are you looking for more? Check out our Beetroot Soups, and then for more Indian Soups, browse here. You might like to have a look at our range of Soups here. Or explore all of our Indian dishes. Or cook seasonally with our easy, Mid Spring dishes. Enjoy!

Seasonal Cooking | Easy Cold Soups in Summer

The hot weather continues in Adelaide with stunning sunrises and sunsets. Cold soups are perfect, and I have stumbled across a great way to prepare them quickly and easily.

Fundamental to my method is the use of a cold press juicer. It juices not only without heat from whirring blades, but also does not aerate and foam the juice like other types of juicers can do. You can use a centrifugal juicer (the usual type) but let the juice sit for a while to lose some of its aeration.

Are you looking for Cold Soups? Try Quick Tomato and Cucumber Cold Soup, Avocado and Celery Soup, and Chilled Beetroot Soup.

What about some juices? Try Watermelon Juice with Ginger and Mint, and Cooling Juices for Summer.

You can find more Cold Soups here and here. Or browse all of our Summer recipes here and here.

Chilled Beetroot Soup

A glorious and colourful start to a meal. Royal red beetroot transformed into a soup. I had fennel flowers sitting on the kitchen bench so these went into the soup as well, with some plain yoghurt.

Similar recipes include Quick Gazpacho, and South Indian Beetroot Soup.

Feel free to browse our Beetroot recipes and Cold Soup recipes. Find some inspiration in our Late Summer recipes.

Quick Tomato and Cucumber Cold Soup

Cucumber is so cooling in these hot months. With tomato it is even better. This soup is gorgeous. Not quite gazpacho, it is definitely similar. Best eaten chilled, it can have yoghurt stirred through. We first made it in 1998 – that sounds so very long ago. But it has stood the test of time, and as soon as hot weather hits, we make it again.

Our preference is to use tomato purees, pastes or sauces from our freezer – we made them in Autumn to get us through the Winter and Spring months until good tomatoes hit the green grocer shelves again. But it can be made by juicing tomatoes, or even with a can of tomato soup if you are desperate (don’t ever mention that I said that – we usually don’t promote processed foods!)

It is a filling yet cooling hot weather soup.

You might also like our Cucumber recipes here and here. Or you might like to browse Cold Soup recipes here and here. Check out our easy Summer recipes here and here.

Fantastic Avocado and Celery Cold Soup

Back from a hot weather week of family, food and fun, one of the outstanding dishes we concocted was an amazing cold blender soup with celery and avocado. Very more’ish, it takes a few minutes to make. It can be eaten either at room temperature or chilled for a perfect start to a meal on a hot hot day. Perfect for our 40C degree summers.

We have another Cold Avocado Soup here, it is just as wonderful. Try other Cold Soups – Chilled Beetroot Soup, Roasted Tomato and Corn Cold Soup, and Tomato and Cucumber Cold Soup.

Are you an avocado fan? Try Avocado Mash with Radishes.

We have other Celery recipes too. Try Celery Yoghurt Salad, Mushroom and Carrot Salad with Celery and a Ginger Vinaigrette, and Nashi Pear and Celery Salad.

Browse our other Cold Soups, our Avocado dishes, and our Celery recipes. Or enjoy our easy Mid Summer recipes.

Roasted Tomato and Corn Cold Soup for Summer

Cold soups and salads abound during Summer. This is a cold soup made from roasted tomatoes and other vegetables. To shorten the time taken to make the soup, pre-prepare roasted garlic and roasted vegetables.

Similar recipes include Quick Gazpacho, and Quick Tomato and Cucumber Cold Soup.

You might like to browse our Tomato Soup recipes, and all Soup recipes. Explore our Tomato recipes, and Sweetcorn recipes. Find some inspiration in our Late Summer recipes.

Velouté d’asperges | Cream of Asparagus Soup

Some years it can just be a soupy Winter, you can feel it even before Winter begins.

A gentle gentle soup today. Not one for people who like punch in their food. This one is like cream velvet. Gentle. Reflective. Inner. Wonderful. Although it is Late Autumn, we still have good quality asparagus in the shops. It is a soup that can be eaten hot or cold.

Did you know that the use of asparagus was introduced into the grande cuisine of France under the Italian influence during the Renaissance? It was part of a progressive change in eating habits in France that gave more emphasis to vegetables, long considered the food of peasants.

You might like to browse other Asparagus recipes here and here, and our Soup recipes here and here. Be inspired by our Spring collection here and here.