Chilled Avocado Parsley Soup and White Bean & Basil Panzanella Salad

This is my third summer here in New York. This is also the third year I haven’t bought an air conditioner for my side of the apartment. It’s flipping hot in here! Here are some of my survival techniques to keep me from turning into a warm puddle of vanessagoo:

• A lot of water
• Iced coffee
• The ice cream truck
• Sunbathing at the park
• Wearing my bathing suit all weekend
• Spray bottles
• Whining about the heat in a blog post
• Trips to my local grocery – it’s truly like 60 degrees in there
• Cold showers + window fans
• And, of course, hanging out on The Sistaster’s side of the apartment. Right in front of the air conditioner.

Oh, and eating cold foods. I’ll start the dog days off right by sharing my recipes for a cool summer soup and a refreshing but hearty salad. I promise you’ll like them, even if you’re smart enough to have an air conditioner.

Time: 50 minutes, plus chilling time for the soup
Serves: 4

Chilled Avocado Parsley Soup

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup packed chopped Italian parsley
juice of 2 limes
3 cups cold water (or half veggie broth)
3 avocados, peeled and quartered
1 tsp salt
1 small cucumber, cut into tiny dice (to serve

Add the garlic, parsley and lime juice to the blender and add a little water and puree until smooth.

Throw the avocados and salt in the blender and blend, slowly adding the rest of the water/veggie broth.

Put the soup in the fridge and chill for at least an hour.

To serve: pour the soup in bowls and top with the diced cucumber.

White Bean & Basil Panzanella Salad

1 small loaf day-old bread, cubed (about the amount of 2/3 of a baguette)
1 large cucumber, cut into large dice
4 tomatoes, cut into large dice
1 can of white beans, drained and well rinsed

Dressing

1/3 cup packed basil, chopped
4 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl balsamic vinegar
2 tsps grainy mustard
½ tsp salt
cracked pepper

You can make this salad while the soup is chilling in the fridge.
Add a 1-2 Tbl of olive oil to a large wok/skillet. Add the bread cubes and toss on medium-low heat until the cubes are dried and slightly browned. Set aside.

Add the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and rinsed white beans to a large salad bowl.

To make the dressing, add all the dressing ingredients to a small tupperware or container with a lid and shake shake shake.

Add the toasted cubed bread to the salad bowl and top with the dressing. Mix well and serve!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 11th, 2006 at 8:56 pm and is filed under Soups & Stews, Salads, Summer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.