photo courtesy of ulterior epicure

In Scandinavian and Slavic countries, they make lovely creamy concoctions from fresh fruits. They make an excellent dessert, as they are both cold and sweet, but traditionally they were a first course, as a way to awakening the taste buds and giving the diners a preview of things to come.

Fruit soups are served in soup “plates”: shallow bowls that hold just about a cup, and generally have a wide flat edge.
This recipe goes back to Poland. It is made here with fresh peaches, but you can substitute tinned, if necessary. Fresh is definitely better.

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Peach Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

1. 2 pounds of fresh peaches or nectarines
2. 2 cups water
3. ¼ cup sugar
4. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
5. the zest of one lemon
6. 1 teaspoon corn starch
7. 1 tablespoon cold water for garnish
8. sliced artisan bread with sunflower seeds
9. butter (to make croutons)
10. sour cream

Directions:

1. Peel, halve and pit the peaches. Reserve the pits (they give a lovely almond flavor. But do not eat them alone. They can be poisonous). Tie the pits in a piece of cheese cloth. They will be picked out later.

2. Put the peaches and the larger amount of water in a pot. Cook, partially covered, on a low boil for 20 minutes. Remove the cheesecloth with the pits and discard.

3. Using an immersion blender, puree the fruit, then add the sugar, lemon and zest. Return the the heat on medium to low, being careful not to allow it to scorch.

4. Mix the corn starch with a small amount of water. Add it gradually to the soup as it comes up to the boil. Once it is clear and thick, remove from the heat and cool. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

5. Just before serving, remove the crusts from two slices of artisan bread with sunflower seeds. Butter the bread liberally on both sides. Place the bread in a heavy skillet and fry on both sides, until it becomes crispy and golden. Cut the bread into small cubes.

6. Ladle into soup plates. In the center of each plate, put a large tablespoon full of sour cream. Use a toothpick to draw the sour cream out into pretty patterns. Place several of the croutons around the main dollop.

Tips:

• You can do this same soup with apricots or cherries. It is not necessary to peel either of these fruits, but if you are using cherries, you may want to put the fruit through a food mill to remove the tougher skins.  Berries of most any variety may also be used.
• You can also mix the  fruits up, like mango and peaches, or use different types of melons. Experiment, have fun with it.
• If you do not have sufficient fresh fruit available, you can use canned fruit. Reserve the juice and use in place of the water and sugar. If using canned fruit in syrup, double the amount of lemon juice.
• Just for fun, you can serve them in Margarita or martini glasses, and garnish with some fresh fruit.

Organic apple and blueberry pie. photo courtesy of aloalosabine

Here are more details from the organizers:

American Pie Council Seeks North America’s Top Bakers to Compete in Prestigious 15^th Annual APC/Crisco® National Pie Championships 

APC Now Registering Amateur, Professional and Commercial Bakers, as well as  
Junior Chefs at www.piecouncil.org 

CHICAGO, IL (Feb. 2, 2009) – Calling all amateur, professional and commercial bakers as well as budding junior chefs — the American Pie Council (APC) is now accepting registrations for the 15^th Annual APC/Crisco® National Pie Championships to be held April 24-26, 2009 in conjunction with the Great American Pie Festival at the Ramada Orlando Celebration Resort and Convention Center in Celebration, Fla.

      Once a year, bakers of all skill levels, all ages, and all degrees of training, from all over the United States and Canada gather in sunny Orlando to celebrate the continent’s love affair with pie and to vie for Best of Show bragging rights — and often some serious prize money. Exciting new flavors and ingredients are regularly added to the roster, while more traditional pies like apple, pumpkin and cherry remain popular. Creative bakers in all categories are invited to dream up even more unique recipes in the “open” category.

      Amateurs are invited to enter the competition in one of 15 categories: Apple, Citrus, Crisco^® Classic Cherry, Crisco^® Classic Chocolate, Cream, Cream Cheese, Custard, Fruit/Berry, Nut, Peanut Butter, Pumpkin, Open, Raisin, sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board, Splenda and Sweet Potato. The overall Amateur winner will take home the Best of Show title and $5,000 in prize money, as well as a new Sears Kenmore range.  Sears has joined the event as a sponsor and is supplying amateur and professional winners with a brand new Sears Kenmore range so that contestants can have the latest, most desirable home appliance for taking their baking to the next level.  First place winners in each category will receive $200 cash, second place winners receive $150 cash and third place winners take home $100 cash. The entry fee is $15 per pie for Amateur members of the APC; $35 for non-members.

      Professional bakers may enter pies in eight categories: Apple, Citrus, Crisco^® Classic Chocolate, Crisco^® Classic Cherry, Fruit/Berry, Cream, Nut and Open, with the overall winner taking Best of Show and $5,000 in prize money as well as a new Sears Kenmore range. First place winners in each category will receive $200 cash. The entry fee is $20 per pie for Professional APC members; $35 for non-members. There is limited space for on-site baking available in the professional category; early entries are encouraged.

  Junior Chefs who are in high school and are between the ages 14 to 17 are encouraged to test their pie-making skills with pie entries in Apple, Cream, Fruit/Berry or Open categories.  The Best of Show winner in the Crisco^® Junior Chef division will win a $1,000 gift certificate to the Chef Depot, a source for all Professional Chef Tools. Four first place winners will receive $200 Chef Depot gift certificates. Junior Chefs may enter the competition for free.

      For the amateur, professional and junior chef divisions, limited on site baking times are available.  For entrants choosing to bake on site, state-of-the-art Sears Kenmore ranges will be available for use.  To assure a spot, early entry is encouraged.

      Commercial bakers return this year to compete for Best of Show with flavor options including Apple, Blueberry, Fruit/Berry, Open Cream, Citrus, Open, Nut and Chocolate, and Raisin, sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board. Competitors must assign their pie entries based on wholesale cost and size of the pie. Independent bakers with $1 million or less in annual pie sales will be placed in their own category within the commercial bakers’ competition.

Not only do winners in each category take home a prestigious title, but also, winning an award at the National Pie Championships has been proven to increase market share of that product.

Entry fee for Commercial APC members is $125 per pie; $250 for non-members.

      Crisco® is a registered trademark of The J. M. Smucker Company.  For more information, visit www.crisco.com.

      Participants in the National Pie Championships are encouraged to join the American Pie Council prior to registration in order to receive discounted entry fees. The American Pie Council offers individual membership for amateurs as well as professionals and commercial bakers.  Pie lovers receive multiple benefits including the “Pie Times” e-newsletter, membership directory and member-only online “pie talk” access for idea exchange, pie recipes, coupons and discounted entry into the annual APC/Crisco^® National Pie Championships. 

      The American Pie Council® is the only organization committed to maintaining America’s pie heritage, passing on the tradition of pie-making and promoting America’s love affair with pie.

For more details, to become a member of the APC or to register for the National Pie Championships, visit www.piecouncil.org 

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