Cool Cucumber Summer Soup from The House of Dreams

I live in the House of Dreams, "La Maison des Reves", right here in Boulder, Colorado.
It rivals any French garden. Although it has been a temporary home, my desk overlooks a rushing creek that flows into a pond, where geese fly in and out and the occasional wild bobcat or bear tend to visit upon occasion. The land that slopes down to the pond is dotted with black eyed Susan's, lavender, dahlia, wild roses and herbs that make for a pleasant summer mood.

I heard the cicada's sing in the tall cottonwood trees, midday today. For them the conditions were delightful. It was a sign. There are cucumbers in the garden, as well as scallion and dill, perfect for a cool summer evening soup. It would be refreshing and fit the sunset hour. I thought, if it's hot enough for them to sing, it's hot enough for us to eat cool cucumber soup.

Soon the weather will change. Soon I will be heading back to Italy. Soon I will be leaving the House of Dreams.

COOL CUCUMBER SOUP A LA MAISON DES REVES

5 cucumbers
1/2 cup chopped parsley
6 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 quart coconut milk
1 pint goat yogurt
Salt and freshly ground pepper


 Peel cucumbers and cut them in half, scraping out seeds. Sprinkle the cucumbers with salt and let them stand 30 minutes. Drain excess water.

Chop the cucumbers coarsely and put the pieces in the blender along with scallions, dill, lemon juice, coconut milk, and yogurt. Blend at high speed.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill well before serving.



(Substitute milk or yogurt as you prefer).

Recipe: Ajo Blanco

Ajo Blanco: Chilled Spanish Almond Soup

Serves 4

> 1 slice of stale bread, crust removed
> 1/2 cup water
> 1 garlic clove
> salt
> 1/4 cup blanched almonds
> 1 Tblsp sherry vinegar
> 1/2 cup olive oil
> 2 cups ice water
> 24 grapes, green and seedless

Soak bread in water for 1 minute. Squeeze dry.
Pound garlic with salt into a paste.
Grind almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add garlic, bread, and vinegar. With motor running, add oil and ice water. Blend well.
Force puree through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard solids. Refrigerate covered until cold, about 3 hours.
Before serving, season soup with salt and sherry vinegar if necessary. Serve topped with grapes.

Variation: Add shrimp as a topping or fresh edible flowers in addition to the grapes.

* Recipe via our chef on the Spain program, Kim Schiffer. Kim Schiffer has cooked professionally for 29 years. She has worked at Zibbibo in Florence and in California at Chez Panisse and Zuni Café, and has traveled and studied in Morocco with PMCA. 

* Photo courtesy The Wright Recipes.

Recipe: Purée of Fresh Fennel Soup

Passato di Finnochio

(Purée of Fresh Fennel Soup)

Fennel is a winter vegetable commonly used in Italy, but not so common in America. Its delicate and somewhat licorice aftertaste makes the celery-like texture delicious--either eaten raw, dipped in extra virgin olive oil and salt as in pinzimonio, or puréed into this delectable soup. The addition of dried fennel flowers adds a summery highlight, along with the color contrast and exotic smattering of saffron.

• Two fennel bulbs
• One shallot
• One potato
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fennel flowers
• A few strands of saffron

Chop the fennel and potato into rustic chunks. Slice shallot thinly and sauté in extra virgin olive oil. Add fennel and potato and coat with the oil while stirring gently. Add water or vegetable broth to cover the soup by three finger width. Add salt and pepper. Let simmer for 20 minutes.

Put contents into a blender or food processor. Purée the soup to a velvety texture. Correct salt to taste.

Place in bowls and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a touch of dried fennel flowers and a few threads of saffron.

Zuppa di Pesce Panaresca

Zuppa di Pesce? si..but also Risotto Pescatore


Inside our sailboat the 'Swamy', cooking on a gimbled stove.
photos by: Hank Strauss


Zuppa di Pesce Panaresca
(Fish soup from the Aeolian Island of Panarea)

1 kilo of fresh prawns
3 fresh squid
1/2 kilo of vongole verace (clams)
2 red mullet
 a few cherry tomatoes
1 can of cherry tomatoes, peeled
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
white wine
a bunch of parsley, chopped fine
salt to taste
pepperoncino (cayenne) a dash to taste

Peel the prawns, separating prawn from shell. Set the prawns aside. Bring a pot of water to a simmer and drop in prawn shells.

Clean and cut the heads off the mullet. Fillet the fish, cut into 2 to 3 pieces and set aside. Add heads and bones to the broth.

Rinse and tap the clams (looking for a "flat" sound that may indicate a shell without a clam but full of sand). Set aside.

Clean the squid by taking out what’s inside the tube. Peel off the thin outer layer. Slice into rings. Set aside.

Peel and flatten garlic. Rinse and dry. Chop parsley fine. Set aside. Quarter the cherry tomatoes and set aside.

Now you have your mise en place.

Put a generous drizzle of olive oil in the bottom of a large sauté pan. Add chopped garlic and simmer until barely golden. Add pepperoncino, half the parsley and the tomatoes. Stir until saucy. Salt and pepper. Strain and add the broth.

Heat a separate pot. Add some olive oil and a little garlic. Add the clams. Toss them in the hot pan, splash them with white wine and cover the pot with a lid. Steam for 3 minutes, or until the clams open and give up their liquid. Add to the pot. (Be careful not to let any possible residual sand from the pot liquor to slide in.)

Season prawns (or shrimp) and squid with a quick toss in a frying pan, with olive oil, parsley and salt. Set aside. Add to the pot. I like to season things separately before adding the pot, it deepens the flavor. Otherwise, you could just skip this.

Correct salt and pepper . Add the rest of the fish and fish broth if you have some leftover. Let it simmer to marry, but not so long to overcook the seafood.

Garnish with parsley. Serve with garlic toasts. Should be flavorful and spicy.

P.S. Broth can be used for making Risotto, shrimp and squid can be cooked right into the rice.
Scampi in the shell, clams, etc. can be added on top of the risotto before serving.

Learn more about our week-long culinary sailing program along Italy's Amalfi coast.