Jul 02

Chilled Zucchini Soup

Good recipes are season-less, right? Not cold soup. Compared to your mom’s comforting chicken and rice, smoking-hot Texas chili, or legendary clam chowder, cold soup is underappreciated and out of our thoughts nine months of the year. But when summer rolls around and sweltering heat grips our nation as it has this past week, only cold soup has the power to refresh. This is its time to shine.

Give me a cold soup any day – from velvety-smooth French vichyssoise, to the garden-in-the-bowl gazpacho, to the humble cold zucchini soup that can be made a day ahead and chilled until time to serve.

This recipe comes from my friend Wyeth Burgess who got it from her friend Julia Maddux. Which is how great recipes begin, from the friend of a friend…It is light, elegant, and refreshing. And its secret ingredient is cream cheese that keeps the soup, well, creamy. Other than that, it is a straightforward recipe, perfect for lunch or dinner, or to take to a July 4th picnic. Whatever you do, make it now, in the heat of summer, when it will be appreciated.

Here is the recipe.