It has been almost a month since I received the Denver Junior League’s Creme de Colorado Cookbook from Lea Ann at Mangoes, Chili and Z who celebrated her blog’s First Anniversary in May with this cookbook giveaway. Thank you Lea Ann for this wonderful cookbook which has nearly 700 recipes in it.
I wanted to make a dish from this cookbook that would best represent the beautiful state of Colorado which was once home to us. Going through the book, I came across this Fire and Ice Soup that really spoke to me of Colorado. The fire is like the hot, dry summers there with clear blue skies while the ice is the cold, crisp winters that transform the place into a winter wonderland.
I adapted the recipe for the Hot Tomato Ice by using fresh tomatoes on the vine instead of canned tomatoes. As for the soup, I made a lighter minty Green Pea Soup instead of Avocado Soup. This soup has a lovely color with the Tomato ice giving it a nice contrast. It is light and refreshing. The slightly tart and spicy ice is a nice contrast.
- 2 large tomatoes on the vine
- ¼ cup (60ml) chicken broth
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
- A pinch of salt
- 4 cups (960ml) chicken broth
- 2 cups (300g) frozen green peas
- ¼ cup (60g) sour cream
- 2 sprigs mint leaves, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Extra mint leaves for garnishing
- Bring a small pot of water to boil. Cut an X on the bottom side of tomatoes and drop it into boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove and dunk in cold water. Skin can now be easily peeled.
- Roughly chop tomatoes and blend till smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, yielding about ½ cup (120ml) puree. Mix in chicken broth, lime juice, Tabasco sauce, and salt.
- Pour into ice cube tray and transfer to the freezer. You should get about 8 ice cubes.
- In a medium sized pot, pour in chicken broth. Bring broth to a boil. Add frozen green peas and bring it back up to a boil. Add salt and pepper, and simmer for about 3 minutes. Remove and allow soup to cool.
- Add mint leaves and sour cream. Transfer to a blender in two batches and blend till smooth. Strain through sieve. Cover and chill for at least two hours.
- Ladle soup into chilled sherbet glasses and float one or two cubes of tomato ice in the soup. Garnish with mint leaves.
This Fire n Ice Soup will pair beautifully with my Ebony n Ivory Dessert for a fabulous summer party.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
That, my dear, is a FANTASTIC idea! The hot tomato cubes just blow my mind! I've got to try this!
Creative and beautiful! Love the fresh and healthy look. Must be delicious….mmm
Very beautiful presentation! Love the the color and sounds so healthy.
Such a cool soup!!! Love it so much.
what a great idea! ice cubed tomatoes
Great Innovative recipe.
Very creative! The color and presentation are beautiful. This is a must try!
That's a very cool summer soup!
The title of your post alone drew me in–then seeing the pics and reading the recipe, mmmmm! I can't wait to make this–LOVE this kinda pea soup. It's on my list. Thanks, Biren! >>^..^<< I buzzed this one, btw!
I thought the name was catchy too. One of the reasons I was attracted to the recipe was the name. I hope you did check out Ebony n Ivory. Thanks for your support!
Lovely colors and so unique! would love to taste this soup!
Very unique with beautiful colors and yummy flavors, fun recipe that I would like to try, thanks!
Oh what a summery soup! Craving sips here in Tokyo, whose heat is almost above 35C this week 🙂
Wow!! Such an interesting soup, really unique. Thanks for sharing this!
These two colours are beautiful together, and I like the touch of the mint leaf. The tomato ice cube just peaking out of the pea soup is enough to intrigue anybody who didn't know what that was. Lovely dish Biren.
Beautiful color Biren! Tomatoes iced cubes are so fun. The title caught my attention and I had to jump over to this post.
Yes, I will wear a kimono (I actually have one from Japan hehe) if I can have your frothy matcha tea!
love this idea of adding coloured and spiced ice cubes to cold soups. looks delish and very charming.
Wow, so creative, love the idea of the tomato ice and what a beautiful presentation…lovely!
nice clicks..looks so refreshing and yummy!!
This is a really interesting soup and really pretty. i bet it was kind of surprising to people who didn't know what it was.
Hey you were in CO before. We are in Boulder now ? Where did you live ?
This sure looks fabulous and yumm..Awesome clicks Biren !
Yes, I lived in Northern Colorado for several years before moving to Minnesota. Still miss the place. We used to go to Boulder for the weekends. Lots of great restaurants there. Do check out my post http://rotinrice.blogspot.com/2010/05/colorado-co….
These looks great, and I'm loving the color, they look delicious too.
That's a beautiful looking soup and wonderful recipe. I can't imagine how good it tastes as the ice cube starts to melt and puts more flavor in the peas. Thank you!
A gorgeous soup, beautifully presented! I love the juxtaposition of hot against cold, spicy against tingly. Just brilliant!
That soup sounds good, very very unique too.
I love that you made a soup that really SAYS colorado to you! And one that's so tasty too!
Oh wow! I love the idea of the ice cubes. This soup is packed with beauty and taste! What a creative recipe!
I love the name of this and the meaning behind it! It's a lovely summery soup. Perfect for a garden party!
Fantastic! The book is truly a gift if all the recipes are like this one. This looks incredible. I'm sure it's as tasty as it is beautiful. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings…Mary
Hey Biren, this is so neat! I've never had anything like it, so I can't quite imagine it. But it is giving me an idea for a similar type cocktail. That's what I thought this was at first glance (smile). Hmm….
What an idea!!!! Soo very inspirational 😀
Very cool idea!
Beautiful!!!! What a great looking soup. When I saw that first photo I couldn't figure out how you did it. Ice cube trays! I was so anxious to see what you were going to choose. Great post, great photos and thanks for the shout out. Enjoy the book.
It is a really refreshing soup.That tomato ice is something else! I can't wait to try more recipes from the cookbook. Thank you again for such a lovely book 🙂
Lovvvve the hot tomato cubes. fab fire n ice :))
This is incredible! The flavored cubes are fantastic and remind me of something Thomas Keller or Gordon Ramsay would do. Stellar thru & thru!
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Biren, this is an absolutely stunning summer dish… Wow!
Devaki, you are truly a diehard Gordon Ramsay fan. Thank you for your compliment 🙂
Very creative soup. I lived in Colorado too, in the late 70's in Aspen. Love your Colorado soup…Great photos.
LL
Hi Lori, thanks for visiting and for your compliments. The mountains in Colorado are so awesome.
Wow…that is totally gorgeous Biren. I think the flavor combination would be awesome. Very beautiful pictures as well.
Biren, I have to say I simply love every single post you write, and this is no exception! When a recipe has a story or a meaning to it, for me, it feels very special, and your description helped me imagine that place and your dish came alive..sounds a bit crazy maybe, but that’s what gives me passion with food! Seeing your recipes inspire me always.
So thank you for your time and care with every recipe you share.
it is much appreciated, and also by our group over on Facebook.
Warmest, Mary
Thank you so much, Mary for your kind comment. That is really sweet of you! We lived in beautiful Colorado for several years and had many wonderful memories there. We still miss the place and hope to return someday. I appreciate all the sharing you do on Facebook. I know it is very time consuming and you do a wonderful job of it.
Hugs…Biren XO