The Green Kitchen Project, recipe no.7

COLD RED BERRY SOUP

(serves 2)

500g red berries (I used 300g strawberries and about 100g lingonberries and 100g redcurrants)
125ml water
13 medjool dates (I used 16 fresh dates, which were a bit smaller than medjools)
cream for serving


Bring the berries and water slowly to boil on low heat. Mash the dates with a fork until smooth and add to the pan. Simmer for about 10 minutes; the berries and dates should almost have dissolved. Take the pan off the heat and mix the soup with a hand blender. Pour the soup through a fine sieve so the seeds are strained using the back of a spoon to help the thick soup through. Let the soup cool in the fridge for a few hours. Serve with cream.

This is absolutely one of my favorites from The Green Kitchen! I suppose the traditional danish recipe they adapted this from is quite like the finnish cold berry soup (kiisseli). Dates work so well here; they create a wonderful balance with the tart berries, sweetening yet not tasting like there were dates at all (I really like dates but I don't like tasting them when they're used as a sweetener. In addition to sweetening they also give this soup a thickness that would traditionally come from using starch). This is genius! And delicious!


Soundtrack for the recipe: Lovin' Arms by The Wood Brothers