Saturday, August 02, 2008

Blueberry Soup with Mascarpone and Tarragon



[ts]
This is quite the departure for us, seeing as we
a) don't really make/eat desserts, and
b) remain unconvinced (especially JS) about the genre of "dessert soup."

We never really got into those Chinese "desserts" that come in soup format. Thinking about it, I'm not really into "Chinese desserts", in general.

[js]
It took me quite a long time to just even warm up to the idea of Chinese dessert soups. Or one dessert soup in particular, the red bean soup which I usually have with evaporated milk. (I ask for milk, which renders me very strange to the servers). I don't usually have the other kinds of Chinese dessert soups.

[ts]
However, the recipe sounded pretty easy, so we thought, "Why not?"


This Blueberry Soup is a recipe from the restaurant where I used to work. It was developed by pastry chef Dawne Gourley.

Actually, more accurately, it's from the cookbook: Simply Bishop'sby John Bishop (owner of Bishop's and "local celebrity") and Dennis Green (the executive chef during my stint). We never had this soup on the menu when I was there.

(Oh, I realize now that this soup was the reason we bought tarragon in the first place.)

It's one of those treasured dump-into-a-pot dishes. In the pot goes blueberries, lemon zest and juice, sugar, white wine, water, tarragon and thyme. All it needs is about 5-10 minutes worth of cooking, just until the blueberries soften.



When the mixture has cooled a little, everything gets blended with mascarpone.


Then it needs to chill.


This was quite nice. I liked the body the mascarpone lent to the soup. Personally, though, I would up the tarragon flavor... probably doubling the amount of tarragon. And I'll also lessen the sugar just a tad.

I am still not wholly convinced about a dessert "soup"; I couldn't drink a whole serving of it. Perhaps I would adapt this to make a drink instead. =)


Chilled Blueberry Soup with Tarragon and Mascarpone
from Simply Bishop's
Makes 4 servings


2 cups fresh blueberries
2 lemons, zest and juice
1/2 cup white sugar or honey
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup mascarpone cheese
plain yogurt for garnish

Place blueberries, lemon zest and juice, sugar (or honey), white wine, water, tarragon and thyme into a soup pot. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat; simmer, uncovered, until fruit is soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the stove and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Transfer to a blender or food processor and add mascarpone cheese. Purée until smooth. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

To serve, ladle soup into slightly chilled bowls and garnish with a swirl of yogurt in the centre.


[ts]
When I was typing, I made a typo and wrote "To serve, ladle soup into slightly chipped bowls." Bwahahaha. I found that highly amusing.


We're submitting this to Sugar High Fridays, created by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess.

This
BERRIES edition is hosted by Susan of Food Blogga.

More info about
Sugar High Fridays.


19 comments:

  1. You know, I've always been uneasy with the idea of dessert soup too. Your picture of blending the mascarpone into the berries though is making me start to think I would really like berry soup! Thanks for the unique entry to SHF.

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  2. I cant wrap my head around the Chinese dessert soups. Here they always serve this green bean type one. Its looks almmost like a dark lentil, yet the sweetness shocks me. Just give me some fruit!

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  3. Oh, how I miss good Northwest blueberries!

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  4. This is so interesting. I love red bean soup, but never would have thought to make a blueberry soup. I think I might like it quite a bit.

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  5. Thanks for stopping by my blog. It helped me discover yours!:D

    What an interesting soup that is. Love mascarpone and blueberries, but in a dessert. Your dessert soup looks simply gorgeous.

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  6. Yummmm. I think that my girls would really like this and I have a bunch of blueberries to get rid of...now if I could just find some tarragon here???

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  7. I feel a little reluctant about dessert soups also. Well, not just dessert soups, but any chilled soup. This does sound good, though!

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  8. I swear you two are too amazing for words sometimes. You always manage to impress me, every time I stop by. Which is like every day...

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  9. that's a pretty chinese looking dessert soup! never had one, maybe i should give it a try...when blueberries are cheaper:) hehe
    hey thanks for your entry!

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  10. I actually really like fruit soups. I made a strawberry one not too long ago that is one of my faves. I love your blueberry soup! It has much more finesse than mine and the color is so beautiful! Besides, anything with mascarpone gets my vote. ;)

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  11. i don't believe i've ever had a soup for dessert--i usually like my desserts rich and fatty and decadent--but this is gorgeous and completely irresistible to me. bravo. :)

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  12. My goodness! I love the colour of that soup. I would never have thought of combining blueberries with tarragon. I can almost taste it from here.

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  13. Beautiful soup & sandwich. Adding fruit to savory dishes sure does add something. Beautiful pics too!

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  14. I've never tried a cold soup myself, but this just catches your eye with the color, then adding a little mascarpone, how could anyone resist!

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  15. This looks great. I really will have to try this soon. I love blueberries and I want to make some marscapone, so this may just do.

    Thanks!

    Joe @ cookingquest.

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  16. I'm Chinese so the idea of dessert soup is no stranger to me ;) But blueberry soup! That's certainly unique. Yours look so pretty!~ I'm currently enjoying the blueberry season too with the cheaper prices :)

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  17. This was fantastic as a first course for a summer meal -- light, sophisticated, delicious, not too sweet. I followed it up with grilled salmon with a peach/curry glaze. Great combo.

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  18. That sounds WON-derful! Thanks for sharing.

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  19. susan:
    It was good, but I think I would prefer it in small quantities... as a shot, let's say. =)

    glamah16:
    Haha... the Chinese desserts soups take some getting used to.

    judy:
    I barely tasted the tarragon in mine, so I think it would be OK without it. Or perhaps just try some other herb... perhaps mint!

    sweetbird:
    Aww, thanks! =)

    stickygooeyreamychewy:
    The mascarpone added a really nice roundness to it.

    anonymous:
    Wow, thanks for making it!

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