I love soup anytime of the year but a lot of people have this misconception about soup being only fall or winter appropriate. Soup doesn’t need to be steaming hot, served on a cold afternoon, or simmered for hours. I love how this chilled sour cherry soup breaks all of these rules and will still leave you with that I-just-had-a-bowl-of-soup-and-now-my-belly-is-happy feeling.

As you can see from the picture I slurped it down with noodles to make it feel more like a proper dinner. This is such a quick and easy recipe for summer. It did not feel like a snack or a dessert and the leftovers lasted me three days. I will warn anyone without a cherry pitter that it will take a while to get through the 1 1/2 lbs. of cherries. And wear gloves or you will look like you murdered someone.

This is an updated recipes of the kind of chilled sour cherry soup I remember from my childhood. Ginger is a welcomed ingredient here that gives the soup a touch of spice. The wine is also a new ingredient that is subtle and it supports the cherry flavor very well. I think that with these new additions the soup is even  better than I remember.

Chilled Sour Cherry Soup:

Place 5 cups water, 1 cup red wine (I used Pinot Noir), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 lbs pitted dark cherries, pinch of salt, 1 long strip of lemon zest studded with 4 cloves, 1/2 stick of cinnamon, 1/2 by 1-inch piece of fresh ginger(sliced into smaller pieces) and heat on medium-high heat until it starts bubbling. Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the cherries are soft but not mushy. Discard the lemon peel, cinnamon stick, ginger and chill the soup. Serve with noodles.

Serves: 6-8 people