Published: June 10, 2009 08:07 am      

Great soups — hot or cold

As most of us know through experience, there’s something wonderfully nourishing about a hot soup on a cold day.

What many people don’t know is that a great soup can be very refreshing when served cold on a hot day. With the warmer days of summer coming, it’s a great time to experiment a little by trying a cold soup.

Unfortunately, most people, if they’ve tried a cold soup at all, have limited their experience to that wonderful Spanish soup, gazpacho. There’s nothing wrong with a good gazpacho, it’s just that there are so many more interesting possibilities out there.

Like many things in cooking, the way you like your soup is strictly a matter of personal taste. Some people just can’t abide the thought of a chilled soup, so we’re presenting a couple that can be served either way.

The Billi Bi was a new and recent experience for us. It’s a soup that former New York Times food editor Craig Claiborne, in his “New York Times Food Encyclopedia,” calls “conceivably the greatest soup ever created.”

After tasting this mussel-based cream soup, we agreed with Claiborne’s assessment. According to legend, it was created at Maxim’s in Paris and named either for tycoon William B. Leeds (Billi Bi) or for his son of the same name.

Whether named for father or son, it is a most delicious concoction. In our version, we add the mussels to the broth when serving hot, and use them chilled, as a garnish, if the soup is to be served chilled.

Hot or cold, it’s a real keeper!

The second selection, lemon soup, brings a decidedly Greek influence to the table. Like many great soups, it has a chicken base, but the addition of lemon juice brings to it a tangy, unique and most delicious flavor served hot or cold. It’s wonderful served as an appetizer to a full Greek meal, but can be a light lunch when paired with a Greek salad made with feta cheese.



Billi Bi

Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh mussels

3-4 green onions, chopped

1 medium onion, quartered

1 tsp. dried parsley

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 cup dry white wine

2 T butter

1 bay leaf

3/4 tsp. thyme

2 cups half and half

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten



Preparation:

Scrub and de-beard the mussels and place them in a large kettle with wine, onions, parsley, a pinch of salt and pepper, cayenne, butter, bay leaf, thyme and enough water to cover. Cover, bring to a boil and simmer until the mussels open their shells, about eight minutes. Discard any mussels that don’t open.

Remove the mussels from their shells and set aside. Strain the liquid through a double thickness of cheese cloth and return it to the pan, bring it to a boil and add the half and half. Return to a boil and remove from the heat. Add the egg yolk and, if you’re serving it hot, the mussels. Return to the heat. Allow the soup to thicken, being careful not to let it boil.

If you’re serving it cold, use the chilled mussels as a garnish.



Greek Lemon Soup

Ingredients

3 10-and-a-half ounce cans of chicken broth

2 cups water

4 eggs

5-6 T lemon juice

Salt and white pepper

Lemon slices for garnish



Heat the broth and water until just simmering. Beat the eggs together with the lemon juice until well blended. Gradually beat a cup of the hot soup into the egg-lemon mixture, then stir this mixture quickly into the remaining broth. Stir over low heat until the soup is slightly thickened. Do not boil. Season with salt and white pepper. Serve hot or cold and garnish with fresh lemon slices.