When some folks, generally the culinarily unadventurous, hear Strawberry Soup mentioned for the first time, they almost always wrinkle their nose and look at you as though you just sprouted tulips out your ears.
I know a couple of people who don't like strawberries (incredibly) but they do like Strawberry Soup. There are many versions of cold strawberry soup floating around out there: some with wine, some with yogurt, some with orange juice, some with mint, some that you heat first, some that you freeze. It's endless though I would like to try them all. I like this version because it is easy, fast, and really tasty.
You need:
2 pints of fresh strawberries
1 cup of half and half
1 cup of sour cream
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1/3 cup of sugar
nutmeg
But first ... you have to make the Angel Food cake croutons.
Do this first.
Trust me, once you get the soup whipped up you won't want to wait for the croutons and they do add a nice twist to the strawberry soup eating experience.
All you need for the croutons is angel food cake. I hate to admit that I bought a loaf of angel food in the store for this project because homemade, even from a mix, is so much better. But today it's store-bought.
Cut your cake into cubes, about an inch or so but it doesn't actually matter. Big cubes are OK too.
Next, spread them evenly on a cookie sheet and toast them under the broiler.
Just a hint- line your cookie sheet up with the direction of the broiler. Otherwise the croutons directly under the broiler flame with toast and the ones that aren't will only get warm.
Keep an eye on them though because they toast up quickly and it's so easy to burn them.
When they look a bit golden, take them out of the oven, turn them over, and stick them back into the oven.
Then I turn off the oven and leave them in there to finish toasting and to dry out somewhat so they are a little crunchy. Just keep an eye on them until the oven starts to cool as they do burn quickly.
Please don't ask me how I know this with such certainty. Thanks.
OK now the soup----
Wash and hull the strawberries
and drop them into your blender. Puree.
You can add the half and half as well as the lemon juice to the blender if it helps to puree.
Pour the pureed strawberries into a large bowl and add the sugar, sour cream, and nutmeg.
Stirring in the sour cream by hand, as opposed to putting it in the blender, helps the soup stay thicker.
Serve with the Angel Food cake croutons and even strawberry garnish if you like.
I'll be honest---
you may as well get a bigger bowl than this.
Enjoy!
that looks super tastey
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