Meatless Monday: Chilled Yogurt Soup

This entry was posted on Aug 8, 2016 by Charlotte Bell.

meatless mondayWhen I first heard about chilled soups, probably 30 years ago, I wasn’t convinced. My picture of what soup should be was hearty and warming, served with a piece of toasted, crusty bread.

Once I ventured into making gazpacho, I realized that chilled soup can be a refreshing change in the summer. It’s also a great way to use up a surplus of homegrown tomatoes. Since then I’ve tried all sorts of chilled soups including different gazpacho recipes, an amazing plum soup and vichyssoise (potato-leek soup), which I also enjoy hot in the winter.

I’m not a big dairy eater, but I do like goat cheese and goat yogurt occasionally. They don’t seem to affect me the same way that cow products do. So when I read this recipe in my enduring favorite cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, it seemed like the perfect complement to last week’s 90-plus-degree days.

This recipe makes enough soup for about six servings.

Yogurt Soup with Herbs, Spinach and Rice

  • One bunch green onions, including half the greens, chopped
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/3 cup fresh dill, or 3 T dried dill
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 large bunch spinach, stems removed
  • 5 cups vegetable stock
  • 1-1/2 cups yogurt (I used Redwood Hills Farms goat yogurt)
  • 1 cup cooked brown or white rice
  • small, diced cucumber for garnish

 

About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell discovered yoga in 1982 and began teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. Her third book is titled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Guide to Protecting the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Pain (Shambhala Publications). She writes a monthly column for CATALYST Magazine and serves as editor for Yoga U Online. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte plays oboe and English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and folk sextet Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy awards.

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