Red Grape Soup

There’s more to it than just vegetables, and/or noodles. Not only is soup good comfort food in the winter, not only can it warm a cold bodyon a freezing winter day, it can also cool us on a hot summer day. Pamela Reiss, in her Soup -A Kosher Collection gives us many delicious recipes of every kind, ranging from winter comfort types to refreshing summer ones.

Photo by Michelle Furbacher, page 190 Soup - A Kosher Collection

Here’s one I tried last evening, it was easy to make and absolutely delicious:

Serves 5

This lovely, elegant chilled soup is wonderful as a starter. Taste one of the grapes before you cook them; if they are exceptionally sweet, you may want to hold off on adding the granulated sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb red grapes
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup dry red wine

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a soup pot, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer on low for 5 minutes, or until grape skins start to split.
2. Purée the soup. (Use a blender, a hand blender, or a food processor to purée a soup. Do it in small and be very careful. Put a towel over the top of the food processor or blender to prevent any hot soup from spaying. If you are concerned about processing the hot liquid, allow the soup to cool beforehand.
3. Pour the soup through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any seeds and skin, and transfer to a clean bowl. Chill the soup for for a minimum of 4 hours, or until it is completely cold.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS