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Soup’s On

I can see you ..eyes wide open wondering if I have gone mad…Soup? On a dessert blog….Well, what if I whisper Sauternes Poached Peach a la Herme, Luscious Lemon Ice Cream via Lori Longbotham and Ricotta Lemon Beignets thanks to Richard Leach….would you keep on reading? I am going to take a chance and assume yes. What if I add that all these found the way to make a beautiful sweet dessert soup….do you think you would want to know more….?

The February I remember was cold, rainy, grey and magical. It was the perfect time of the year for hot chocolates, hearty stews and soups. My mom made sure that every meal during the winter started with a bowl of vegetable soup, a few croutons and a dash of cream were sometimes added to make it special. I remember my grandmother making me a weird concoction when I was sick: milk and alphabet pasta soup. Most of the time I’d only take a few spoonfulls and leave it aside, it was not that flavorful. All this ended the day my grandfather added a couple of spoons of sugar…and the medecine went down… A sweet creamy soup is the best when your throat kills you, your eyes are red and your nose is numb… That moment of my life was the inspiration behind this dessert and so were the three pastry shef mentionned above….what an eclectic cast!

Two of the components of this soup can be prepared ahead of time, over several days except of course for the beignets. By the way, I realized after making those that today was Mardi Gras, how appropriate! I guess that 30 something years of celebrating that day somehow has become part of my being (or is in my DNA).
The soup is served warm, not hot which provides a great contrast to the lemon ice cream. Use the beignets just like you would bread and soak up every bit of it.

Sauternes and Honey Poached Peaches, adapted from Pierre Herme:

Yields 2 cups

4 white peaches

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey (I used fig syrup)

2 cup Sauternes

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the peaches are cooked through. Remove the fruits from the liquid and let cool. Remove the skin and puree in a food processor. Set aside until ready to use.

Lemon Ice Cream, adapted from Lori Longbotham

Yields 1 1/2 quarts

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups fat free half and half (picked up by mistake…not quite awake when I went shopping)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

6 large egg yolks

1/3 cup lemon zest

3/4 cup lemon juice

Bring the cream, half and half, sugar, honey and zesr just to a boil in a saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Slowly temper them by adding the hot cream in a slow stream. Add all of the cream to the yolks and stir until blended. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens. Stir constantly. It is ready when the cream coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not allow the cream to boil.

Remove from the heat and let cool. Add the lemon juice and stir until incorporated.

Refrigerate until completely cold and process in an ice cream maker. I did have my ice cream container ready so I poured the custard in a large bowl and froze it. I took it out after a couple of hours and give it a whirl in the Kitchen Aid. I did that twice and achieved a really nice, smooth and light texture.

Ricotta Beignets, adapted from Richard Leach:

1 egg white

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup semolina flour

1/4 cup cake flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tb. baking powder

zest and juice of one lemon

confectioners sugar for dusting

vegetable oil for frying

Combine all the ingredients except the lemon juice, oil and confectioner’s suagr in an electric mixer and mix until well incorporated.
Heat oil to 325 degrees and deep fry the beignets using a small ice cream scoop, until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels. With a spoon, drizzle some lemon juice over them and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

To assemble the dessert:

Heat up the peach soup until warm, scoop some ice cream on top and serve the beignets alongside.

I am not the only one to think February is Soup Month: head over Alanna’s A Veggie Venture and add your favorite recipe to the lot. I figured I could contribute a sweet one and trust me this one rocks!

I also would like to dedicate this post to Yvonne, my favorite Cream Puff, for making me a fabulous cake. You made my day!

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Comments


MyKitchenInHalfCups February 21, 2007 um 12:28 am

That strikes me as just plain over the top fabulous! That’s a dessert worth skipping dinner for and then I can say "Oh I just had a little soup and a few croutons"! That is too good!!!


Alanna Kellogg February 21, 2007 um 3:06 am

Well blow me over but this I didn’t expect! What a soup! I’m so stunned, I truly don’t know what to say except, Merci, merci! (And how far is it to Charleston?) Thanks so much for the inspiration.

BTW were as equally stunned by Cream Puff’s seduction? MY!!

Oh right, I forgot my manners, thanks so much for this contribution to Soup’s On. Darlin', you get your very own category: DESSERT SOUPS.


Meeta K. Wolff February 21, 2007 um 7:10 am

Trust you to do it sweetly ;-)! I am amazed by this one. I agree with Tanna all the way skip dinner and bring on the SOUP!


Freya February 21, 2007 um 8:16 am

I love beignets!


Anonymous February 21, 2007 um 2:46 pm

What ice cream maker do you use? I want to purchase one, any suggestions for me?


Lis February 21, 2007 um 4:25 pm

Now that’s fabulous. Seriously fabulous. I’m just all ga-ga over here now. =)


Hélène (Cannes) February 21, 2007 um 4:51 pm

FAntastique recette, encore ! Tu es vraiment une virtuose du sucré. j’essaye tes beignets à la ricotta dès ce soir…
Bises
Hélène


Anonymous February 21, 2007 um 8:13 pm

Hi Helene! I concur with Tanna – forget dinner, let’s get to soup!
Wonderful!


Peabody February 21, 2007 um 10:32 pm

Oh I just adore dessert soups. And what a interesting food combo, usually dessert soups are fruit. Though the addition of the lemon ice cream is the fruit I suppose 🙂


Anonymous February 22, 2007 um 1:18 am

You are brilliant! That is amazing!


Anonymous February 22, 2007 um 8:55 am

This is just too good an idea! We are all clamoring for more soup now! 🙂


veronica February 22, 2007 um 10:18 am

oups que c’est beau superbes ces beignets…


Anonymous February 22, 2007 um 10:29 am

I really don’t care how strange it might be for anything to appear on your blog – all I know is that I see each and every one of your posts and fall madly in love! Ahh, if only I were able to live in your pantry 😛


Jeanna February 25, 2007 um 8:51 am

I am going to learn a LOT from reading your blog. I don’t even know where to begin.


Monkey Wrangler February 25, 2007 um 10:14 pm

Wow! Oh my……now that is the spirit of sharing at it’s finest!

Do you have a recipe for a dessert stew? I tend to like things a bit chunky, especially cold, creamy ones……


Mandira February 28, 2007 um 9:05 pm

I would rather skip dinner or lunch for this yummylicious soup. This looks amazing!


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