Easy chilled peach soup

Soup and summers don’t generally mix, but this delicious chilled peach soup does the trick. It uses what is in season, plus a few other ingredients that are always available at your grocery store, and it’s easy to make. My suggestion would be to serve this at brunch, or as a first course with a small side salad drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette. And of course, it’s perfect as a refreshing dessert after a heavy or spicy meal.

Chilled Peach Soup
Based upon the Pretty Peach Soup recipe found at Allrecipes.com
Serves 4 to 6

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed
1-2 tablespoons water
3 cups fresh or frozen peaches, thawed
3 tablespoons lemon juice, or the juice of 2 small lemons
1-2 tablespoons water
1 cup peach nectar (you may substitute another nectar or fruit juice if peach nectar is unavailable)
1 cup plain vegan yogurt
1/4 cup vegan sugar
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Raspberry purée

First things first – the raspberry puree is not required for this recipe, but if you want to make pretty designs on top of your soup, then you’ll need it. It’s easy to make, so don’t worry too much.

Place raspberries in a blender; cover and process until smooth. If you are using frozen raspberries that have not been thawed, you may find that it will be easier to blend them with one or two tablespoons of water (or even three).

Strain and discard seeds. It will be easier to strain if you use a spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Once it is strained, cover and refrigerate the purée.

Just a friendly reminder… It’s a really good idea to use organic peaches when you can because peaches are one of the Dirty Dozen, a list of produce (compiled by the Environmental Working Group) that shows what items have been overloaded with pesticides.

Place peaches and lemon juice in the blender; cover and process until smooth. If using frozen peaches that are not thawed, you may need to add one to two tablespoons of water in case they have a hard time blending. Transfer to a bowl.

Stir or whisk in nectar, vegan yogurt, vegan sugar if needed (if fruit is tart) and almond or vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To garnish with the purée, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the raspberry puree in a large circle on top of each serving. Grab a toothpick or knife to start in on the design.

Use a toothpick to draw six or eight lines toward the center of circle, forming a flower. Or you can do other designs, too. Just do whatever feels creative and fun for you, and if you mess up – don’t worry, it’s pretty anyway.

This soup is lovely and would be the perfect accompaniment to any meal. I would only recommend that you do not serve this on its own as it is quite sweet, and really needs something else to balance it out.

To see a step-by-step photo illustration of Chilled Peach Soup, click here.

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