Cool Blueberry Gazpacho for the Hot Summer Weather

Good day, everyone! Are you taking advantage of the very summery weather? I am enjoying all of the beach days although my air conditioner is cranked on full blast nearly all of the time.

When I saw this recipe for “Royal Blueberry” Gazpacho with Lemon and Mint in the July 2012 issue of Cooking Light, I have to admit, I was interested. The hot summer weather makes a cool fruity soup sound like a great idea. Plus I had a plethora of blueberries since I came home from the grocery store with two pints (who can pass by a “buy one, get one free” deal?), and then later that week I received another pint from my farm share. Needless to say, I was looking for a good blueberry recipe. This one pairs the blueberries nicely with red seedless grapes. I served the soup, as the recipe suggested, as a sweet starter to our dinner of grilled salmon, potatoes and vegetables. It was great! This mixture would also make a tasty popsicle – just freeze the liquid into some molds. SensitiveHusband and I also agreed that it would be a delicious simple syrup to add to a refreshing beverage with vodka and ice.

To make the recipe a bit simpler (it was just too hot to dirty a food processor), I stirred the mixture and directly poured into a mesh sieve. I was also sure to use 100% grape juice to exclude the cane sugar from this dish.

Ingredients
1 pound red seedless grapes
12 ounces fresh blueberries
1/3-1/2 cup white grape juice (100% juice)
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation
1. Remove stems from fruit. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Place fruit in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add grape juice and honey; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes.

2. Place blueberry mixture in a food processor; process until almost smooth. OR Stir the blueberry mixture briskly until all of the blueberries and grapes have split.

3. Strain; discard solids. Chill 2 hours.

4. Stir in rind, juice, and salt. Ladle about 1/2 cup into each of 5 chilled bowls.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Gastronomical Sovereignty, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday and Cybele Pascal Allegen-Friendly Cook.