White Currant Soup

I could not turn down a bag of white currents that was offered at my local transition town meeting. The question was what exactly to do with them. Sorbet - hmmm perhaps, some sort of tart sauce for some fish - possibly, or maybe, just maybe a soup. I had recently heard about summer soups on the great podcast KCRW Good Food and decided to go for the unusual and make myself a cold soup out of these white currants. Apparently fruit soups are quite popular in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.... I couldn't resist. Armed with a recipe for a Polish blueberry soup I set about making this odd soup.


Serves 2 to 3

400g/500g white currants
1 ltr of water (pretty rough estimate)
1/2 ltr of milk (I used goats milk which seemed to work quite well)
1 vegetable stock cube (this was my addition and perhaps not necessary)
2 tbsp of cornflour
1 tbsp of sugar (or to taste)

1. Bring to a boil the white currents and water. I put in enough water to just about cover the white currants.
2. Simmer for about 10/15 minutes or so to allow some of the fruit to burst.
3. Sieve the liquid to get rid of the pips. I used some butter muslin and made a terrible mess so my advice is to use a metal sieve.
4. Return the liquid to the cooking pan.
5. Combine the cornflour and milk to make a paste and add to the soup to thicken.
6. Cook for about 5/10 minutes to eliminate the floury taste.
7. Add sugar to taste. I added about a tablespoon to get a very tart soup but add as much or as little sugar as you wish.
8. Chill the soup. I really do not recommend eating this warm.
9. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

My verdict. Well, it is very refreshing soup and I am sure on a hot day it will be very welcome. But the British summer has not been up to much of late and eating this soup on a rainy and chilly day did not tick all my food boxes. This is one of the oddest soups I have ever made, and it sure is a talking point. Make it on a very hot day to refresh and revive.