Cold Strawberry Soup

Strawberry season in the South practically has its own festival season — from Plant City, Florida to Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and all the way to Poteet, Texas. This cold Strawberry Soup is elegant, refreshing, and just a little unexpected — serve it up in your grandmother's teacups with the saucer for a girls lunch or celebration.

 

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled, rinsed and sliced

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups white wine

1/2 cup sugar (less or more depending on sweetness of the strawberries)

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 Tablespoons of corn starch and make a slurry with 1 1/2 teaspoons of water

3 teaspoons lemon rind, chopped

1/4 cup sour cream

Directions: 

This recipe makes 6 small servings. 

Place the strawberries in an enamel or stainless steel pot. Add the water and wine, and let everything simmer together over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the berries are soft. 

Stir in the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring, until it thickens up nicely. Remove from the heat and let it cool for 25–30 minutes.

Once the soup has cooledpour it into your blender and purée until smooth. Add the lemon zest and sour cream, then give it just a few more seconds in the blender. Taste it here and add a little more sugar if your berries needed it.

Pour into a container and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled — a few hours or overnight is ideal.

Just before serving, pass the soup through a fine mesh sieve for that perfectly smooth finish. Ladle into teacups with saucers or small bowls for a lovely first course, and garnish each one with a little heart-shaped strawberry slice right in the center.

Picture from Food Network.