Chilled Peach Soup

As I mentioned before, I love making soup. I haven't made many cold soups, but the temperatures are high (around 90 F) and I don't feel like getting hotter.

The recipe is based on this one, credited to Chef Bill Luker, which I found, and thought looked interesting.

You can use a stand blender or a food processor to make this soup. If you have both, I would suggest the blender.

Start by thawing 2 cups (10 oz) frozen peaches. Place them in your blender with 2 tsp Cointreau, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp almond extract and a pinch of salt. Process or blend until smooth. Add 2/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream and 2 tbsp honey. Blend again until combined. Taste and adjust flavors if needed. Chill in refrigerator until cold.

Serve garnished with a little yogurt or sour cream and some mint leaves, as an appetizer or dessert. Makes two generous servings.

Note 1 - If you have fresh peaches, remove the skin and pits, chop coarsely and measure out 2 cups-worth or scale the recipe accordingly.

Note 2 - If you don't have Cointreau, you can substitute Triple Sec or Grand Marnier.

Note 3 - The original recipe called for more almond extract, but I found it to be overpowering, so I scaled it back a little.

If you feel like making your own yogurt for this soup, click here.

Note 5 - Metric info: 2 cups = 480 ml; 10 oz = 280g; 2/3 cup = 160 ml.