Part 3: Soup Swap Recipes

Soups ready to be eaten

Dave Miss and Naomi of Cantaloupe Alone enjoying some soup

Hannah and Sebastian of the tour company Explorecation.com

A giant ladle! (Thank you, Rachael)

As the final post in this three-part entry about the Brooklyn Soup Swap, I am excited to share Sheena's Vegetable Coconut Milk Soup and a Chilled Melon Soup with Stilton Cookies by Chris Ellmann  (perhaps this means warmer and lighter soups are to come?). As with the other soup recipes, please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to be included on the email list for future swaps. (I can be reached at seriouslysoupy@gmail.com). Also, in case you missed it: be sure to check out part one and part two of the delicious soup recipes shared at the swap!

Chilled Melon Soup by Chris Ellmann

Chris Ellmann dishing out his Chilled Melon Soup 

Chilled Melon Soup with Stilton Cookies by Chris Ellmann (Inspired by Larry Kolar)
Ingredients:
4 cantaloupes
juice of 2 blood oranges
juice and zest of 1 lime
8 oz sour cream
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1/3 pound prosciutto
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
5 sprigs fresh mint

Directions:
Slice half the prosciutto into thin strips, lay them across an ovenproof wire rack. Bake at 350F until crispy, about 8 minutes.

Get the freshest melons you can find.  Slice them, discard seeds.  In batches, blend all the remaining ingredients except the mint until smooth.  Pour into a big pot.  Bruise the mint leaves.  Add to the pot.
Refrigerate at least six hours, adjust seasonings as needed.

Stilton Cookies
Ingredients:
100g butter (cold, cut into small pieces)
100g stilton (or some other blue cheese)
100g flour

Directions:
In a food processor, mix butter and cheese.  Add the flour and process until smooth.
Roll the immensely sticky dough into a log an inch or so thick, wrap in plastic, leave in the fridge an hour to harden up.

Cut dough into disks maybe 1/4 inch thick.

Bake at 350 about 12 minutes, or until nicely golden brown.  Flipping the cookies halfway through the baking was a bother, but made for prettier cookies.

Serve chilled soup topped with crispy prosciutto and with a cookie or three.

Vegetable Coconut Milk Soup by Sheena

Vegetable Coconut Milk Soup by Sheena

Ingredients:
1 onion, peeled and chopped up
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
drizzle of olive oil
Various vegetables (Sheena used broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and carrots)
1-2 sweet potatoes, cut up
pre-cooked beans
1 can of coconut milk
half a lime lime or lemon juice
bunch of fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute an onion (any type) and a couple cloves of garlic minced in some olive oil in the pot.  When the onion gets translucent add some vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, pepper, carrot).  Cook for a little with the onions till tender then add 4 cups of broth (any stock, though vegetable or chicken broth taste best), and bring to a boil.  Once boiling add 1-2 potatoes (any variety...sweet potatoes are really yummy in the soup) that have been diced and boil for 10 minutes.  Add some beans (precooked), a can of coconut milk, some lime or lemon juice (a tablespoon or so of the juice or half a lime), and cut up some fresh cilantro. Let soup simmer for a few minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste. And enjoy!  

One Cantaloupe, Three Soups

The Gang's All Here - One Cantaloupe, Three Soups - Seriously Soupy

(Back Left) Green Tea- Infused Melon Soup, (Back Right) Triple Basil Melon Soup

(Front) Prosciutto and Melon Mint Soup

Cantaloupe, the base of all of the recipes

The beauty of soups (and oh, there are so many beautiful things) is that no two recipes ever have to be the same despite using similar ingredients. Your lentil soup be a veggie-based soup and mine might have pork. Or maybe, you use red lentils and I use brown. The basic components and idea of these soups are the same, but its taste can be very different, depending on your ingredients – making  mom’s chicken soup very different than what you buy in a store. What is so great about this (and rather beautiful) is that the possibilities really are endless with soup making.

In a recent link rundown, I was inspired by Aimee’s three 3-minute chilled soup recipes and decided to give it a go myself by using one base ingredient (cantaloupe) and making three soups out of it.  For this soup recipe entitled, ‘one cantaloupe, three ways,' I made a prosciutto and melon mint soup, a green tea-infused melon soup and triple basil melon soup. Asking me to pick my favorite would be difficult, so I'll just say that they all had very distinctive flavors with strong hints of the sweet and yummy muskmelon.  The prosciutto melon was smoky and packed a punch thanks to the mint; the green tea one was a bit “earthy” but blended well with the apricot and the triple basil melon was like a light and refreshing smoothie-like soup with a peppery finish. After this experiment, I’ll never look at one ingredient the same way and (another beautiful thing about soups) is that you never have to.

Soupy Side Note: Since I only used one cantaloupe to create these soups, the recipe requires ¼ a chunk of cantaloupe, which made one serving. If you would like more servings, I would use one whole cantaloupe per soup and double up on the ingredients. But remember: there are no rules in soup making, so let your judgment and taste testing be your guide.

 Prosciutto and Melon Mint Soup

Soup One - Prosciutto and Melon Mint Soup

Ingredients:
¼ cup of cantaloupe, cubed
½ cup of water
¼ cup of Greek yogurt such a FAGE
2-3 sprigs of fresh mint

Directions:
Cut the cantaloupe, along with the prosciutto. Place in a bowl with water and add the yogurt and mint. Add to a blender and presto, you have soup. Let chill for 2-3 and serve cold.
 

 Green Tea-Infused Melon Soup topped with Dried Apricot- Seriously Soupy

Soup Two - Green Tea-Infused Melon Soup
Ingredients:
¼ cup of cantaloupe, cubed
3-5 bags of green tea
1 tablespoon of honey or agave nectar
1 tablespoon of lemon
3-5 dried apricots
Pinch of ginger or fresh ginger
2 cups of water

 Tea bags seeped in lemon, ginger and honey

Directions:
Boil water. Place tea bags in the water and let seep, along with ginger, lemons and honey for 10 minutes. Add the cantaloupe and apricots to soften. When cool (about 30 minutes), remove the tea bags and take out the apricots and cut lengthwise. Place in the blender, along with the rest of the contents. Let chill for 2-3 hours and serve cold.

Triple Melon Basil Melon Soup topped with Red Basil- Seriously Soupy

Soup Three - Triple Melon Basil Melon Soup

Ingredients:
¼ cup of cantaloupe, cubed
¼ cup of honeydew, cubed
¼ cup of watermelon, cubed
Pinch of ginger
Splash of lime
½ cup of water
2-3 sprigs of fresh basil
Garnish: red basil
 

Medley of Melons - Triple Melon Basil Melon Soup Prep

Directions: Cut up the melons and add them to a bowl with water. Add the ginger, lime and basil (you can also add honey or lemons, if you wish). Blend it together for a yummy and refreshing soup.   Top with red basil. Can be eaten immediately or chill for 2-3 hours.

What soups have you made in many different ways?

Seriously Soupy Serena