Yesterday at work I was chatting with one of our photographers on the merits of soup as a meal. He argued soup can never be filling, but I disagree. Seinfeld jokes aside, I love having soup for dinner, especially chilled soups during the summer. Cold borscht, gazpacho, vichyssoise – they may not be hearty, but when it’s 90° and humid, the last thing I want to do is sit down to a huge piece of roasted meat and potatoes. Especially when I have air conditioning in only one room of my apartment.

I got excited when I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Bon Appetit because it has all my favorite things. Thai curry paste, squash, cilantro… to me, those are incredibly refreshing flavors and ideal for a chilled summer soup. This recipe makes a nice big batch and is actually quite satisfying by stirring in some thick and creamy Greek yogurt plus an extra little sprinkle of cilantro. If you wanted to bulk it up you could easily keep some of the squash from being pureed and stir it in once you chill it, but I think the puree itself is just perfect.

—

Chilled Thai Squash Soup

Based on the recipe from Bon Appetit.

Makes 4 servings.

I accidentally poured in the entire can of coconut milk as I made my soup, but it turned out delicious regardless. I just upped the spices to balance everything.

Ingredients

• 2 TBL canola oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow (not sweet) onions
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBL Thai red curry paste
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 pound yellow squash and green zucchini (total)
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 2 TBL chopped fresh cilantro, plus more to garnish
• salt and pepper to taste
• Greek yogurt or plain yogurt to garnish

Directions

1.) Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add the curry paste and curry powder and stir until slightly toasted, about 20 seconds. Add squash and saute another 60 seconds.

2.) Stir in the broth and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce hit and simmer on low 10-15 minutes or until the squash is soft.

3.) Remove from the heat and working in batches, puree the soup in a blender with the cilantro, being sure to leave the lid off or vented so your blender doesn’t explode from steam (ouch!).

4.) Season to taste before the soup cools down. Add the soup to a large, wide bowl (the wider the bowl, the faster and more evenly it will cool). Chill until very cold, at least 5 hours.

5.) When ready to serve, thin the soup with more stock if desired. Garnish with yogurt and more cilantro.