Chilled Raspberry Soup w/ Thai Flavors (& Ravioli Follow up)

These past few weeks, we've literally been buying pounds of fresh berries at the farmers' market and munching on them as snacks, dessert, and everything in between. That's just thing with berries; you can toss those little jewels in anywhere (especially your mouth!).

This soup may not suit everyone's tastes...it's a bit on the tart side and you have to like the flavors of cilantro, lemon grass, and kaffir lime. (Of course, cilantro-averse people could sub basil or mint, or any herb that suits their fancy.)

Although I give approximate measurements of what I used below, I intend this as more of a recipe idea rather than an actual recipe.  I encourage anyone who tries this to add the ingredients in little by little adjusting to suit your own tastes and/or subbing with other flavors that sound good. The end result in this case came out in a strong raspberry flavor with subtle hints of lime and lemongrass.

And one last thing: I didn't sieve the raspberries...we don't mind the errant seed and a slightly thicker texture, but it's up to you...*if I were serving this to company, I would definitely sieve them first.* :)

Recipe Idea   (Makes 4 small appetizer servings or 2 average servings):

1 pound fresh raspberries, rinsed ( ~ 2 cups)
12 inches worth (~ 1/3 cup finely chopped) lemon grass,  tough outer leaves removed and cut into fine rounds
4-5 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped (or more/less to taste)  ( I use dried ones)
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro (or more/less to taste)
1 cup coconut milk (or more for a creamier, more coconut-y flavor)

Mix everything in a blender until smooth and allow to chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve chilled and garnish with cilantro and raspberries. As an afterthought, a bit of shredded coconut would be nice too.

PS: If you don't have a super blender...make sure you really trim off all the tough leaves from the lemon grass...get down to the really tender stuff... in order to avoid any stringiness.

And now for something completely different....

Here's a follow-up shot of the ravioli from this post...(in case anyone was wondering):

I served them with sauteed crook-neck squash and a fresh tomato sauce seasoned with garlic, red pepper flakes, and fresh oregano; garnished with basil and black olive.

Verdict: Thumbs Up.  The filling imparted a light lemony richness, while the summery flavors of fresh tomato and oregano gave a sweet-savory zing. The yellow squash was a nice textural component and added color.

Summer is fleeting by isn't it? I hope everyone is enjoying it.

Ciao for now.

Roseann LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin