Recipe for "fruit-soup"

NAME

     FRUIT-SOUP - Fresh fruit soup
     This is a simple, delicious soup, perfect for a  hot  summer
     day.  It is based upon a recipe in The Moosewood Cookbook by
     Mollie Katzen.  This describes what emerged last time I made
     it;  vary  any  or  all  of  the  ingredients  freely.  I've
     included some suggestions at the end.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

     350 ml    apple juice concentrate (one can)
     2         peaches or nectarines
     1 wedge   canteloupe
     2         apricots
     12        strawberries
     1         small lemon
     1         small lime
     2.5 ml    dried mint flakes
               cinnamon
               nutmeg
     500 ml    unflavored yogurt
               honey
               sherry or other sweet wine
     350 ml    grape juice concentrate (one can)
     4         violets or other small non-toxic flowers

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Wash and peel the peaches, canteloupe,  and  apri-
               cots.   Wash  and  hull  the  strawberries and set
               aside the 4 nicest  ones.   Peaches  and  apricots
               peel  more easily if you dip them in boiling water
               for a few seconds before peeling.  Try not to lose
               any juice from the fruit.
          (2)  Put half of the fruit into the bowl of a food pro-
               cessor  and puree.  You could also use a food mill
               for this.
          (3)  Put the pureed fruit into a bowl and add the apple
               juice  concentrate,  an  equal quantity of  water,
               the juice of the lemon and of the lime,  the  mint
               flakes,  a  sprinkle  each of cinnamon and nutmeg,
               and half of the yogurt.  Whisk together well.  Add
               several  glugs  of sherry and honey to taste.  (It
               shouldn't be very sweet-a couple spoonfuls  should
               do it.)
          (4)  Put the rest of the fruit in  the  food  processor
               and pulse until well chopped but with recognizable
               chunks of fruit still visible.  Put  this  into  a
               different  bowl  and mix some of the first mixture
               into it so the fruit doesn't turn brown.  Put both
               bowls  in  the  refrigerator  for at least half an
               hour.
          (5)  When you're ready  to  serve,  divide  the  chunky
               fruit into 4 soup bowls.  Fill each bowl almost to
               the rim with the soup.  Pour the grape juice  con-
               centrate into a creamer or small pitcher and care-
               fully pour two concentric circles of  grape  juice
               into each bowl.  Take a chopstick or similar sized
               utensil and draw  it  through  each  bowl  several
               times  alternating from the center to the edge and
               from the edge to the center, lifting the chopstick
               after  each stroke.  This should turn the rings of
               grape juice into sort of a zigzag  pattern.   Stir
               up  the  remaining  yogurt  well  and put a little
               mound of yogurt into each bowl.  (The yogurt  will
               probably  sink.   Put  more  in  until  you  get a
               mound!)  Take the 4 reserved  strawberries,  slice
               them  thinly,  and  surround  each mound of yogurt
               with strawberry slices.  Top each mound of  yogurt
               with a flower and get ready for the oohs and ahs.

NOTES

     You can substitute any fruit that you want, but  use  strong
     tasting  fruits  like  pineapple  in moderation or they will
     take over the soup.  Bananas are nice; cherries are  wonder-
     ful  but  impossible  to  peel.  Plums and other fruits with
     very mild flavors tend to get  lost  in  the  shuffle.   The
     juice concentrates can be replaced with regular juices; vary
     them if you like, also.  There's an  apple-pear-grape  juice
     combination that's delicious as the base and cranberry juice
     is nice as the contrasting color.  Or, use  a  darker  juice
     for  the  base  and  something  lighter in color like orange
     juice to make the  rings.   Cherries  or  mint  leaves  make
     attractive garnishes.
     Of course you don't have  to  go  through  all  the  special
     presentation work, but it really doesn't take that much time
     and it makes the result into something special.   Doing  the
     fruit in two steps is strictly optional; if you're not going
     to make the ring pattern you may as well just process it all
     at once and stop before it's completely pureed.

RATING

     Difficulty: moderate.   Time:  20  minutes  preparation,  30
     minutes  chilling,  10  minutes presentation.  Precision: no
     need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Paul Asente
     Stanford University
     asente@su-cascade.arpa   decwrl!glacier!cascade!asente