A Cooling Combo: Chilled Mango and Cucumber Soup & Brazilian Quinoa Salad for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Warm days have me craving lots of fruits and veggies and low effort cooking. I found this recipe for a cold, no-cook Chilled Mango and Cucumber Soup in the weekly Gourmet Magazine email newsletter I subscribe to and thought it sounded good. A bonus, I had everything I needed to make it from the farmer's market this week. Wanting something light but still filling and full of veggies to pair with it, I found a recipe for a Brazilian salad in The Tropical Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein. The recipe is for a rice salad but swapping out the rice for some quinoa gives a much bigger boost of protein and other nutrients. With the quinoa and black beans the salad becomes a good source of protein and a great veggie meal, but if you, or someone in your household must have some meat, some grilled shrimp or chicken would pair perfectly for a still light summer lunch or dinner. Notes/Results for both dishes are at the bottom.

Chilled Mango and Cucumber Soup

by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez, Gourmet Magazine
(Makes 7 cups)

"A chunky mango-cucumber soup spiked with lime juice and cilantro is a light first course that requires no cooking."

2 mangoes, peeled and pitted (2 pounds total)
2 seedless cucumbers (usually plastic-wrapped; 1 1/2 pounds total)
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Finely chop 1 mango and 1 cucumber and set aside. Coarsely chop remaining mango and cucumber and purée with 1/4 cup water in a blender until almost smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in finely chopped mango and cucumber, onion, lime juice, and 2 cups cold water. Place bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir until cool.
Just before serving, stir in cilantro and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt.

Cook's Note: Soup can also be chilled in the refrigerator until cold, but it will take about 2 hours.

And the salad:

Brazilian Rice Quinoa Salad

Adapted from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein

(Makes 6-8 Servings)

2 cups long grain rice (I used quinoa)

2 1/4 cups water

1 3/4 cups light coconut milk

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt, plus additional to taste

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped red, yellow and/or green bell pepper

2 large plum tomatoes (about 3 oz each), chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice. or to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium deep-sided skillet with a lid, bring the rice, water, coconut milk, turmeric, cumin, sugar and salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently until all the liquid is absorbed, 17 to 20 minutes. Fluff with fork and set aside to cool about 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rice with the remaining ingredients, tossing well to combine. Season with additional salt, as needed. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Alternatively, cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours, and return to room temperature before serving.  

Notes/Results: First the soup; sweet but tangy and a little savory, it is cool and refreshing and wonderful on a hot day. The flavor is like a mild, mango salsa and it would be a good starter for a Latin-inspired party in little shot glasses. A keeper recipe. The salad is tasty and filling, the quinoa takes on a creamier texture when cooked with the coconut milk and that contrasts nicely with the crunchy veggies. I added a diced jalapeno for a little more heat and some extra lime juice too. A great healthy salad that would be perfect to take to a potluck, I liked it best at room temperature. 

Let's take a look at who is in the Souper Sunday kitchen this week:

I am happy to welcome Chaya from Chaya's Comfy Cook Blog to Souper Sundays this week. Chaya hails from New York and is a fairly new blogger who teaches 5th grade and hangs out with her family when she isn't cooking and blogging. Chaya has a healthy, gluten-free, veggie filled Zucchini Spinach Soup to share, the recipe sent from her daughter. She says; "it tasted like the richest, creamiest soup and yet it was all vegetable – no cream." Gotta love that!

Welcome back to Christine from Kit's Chow, here this week with a Baby Cuttlefish Salad. Finding packages of cleaned and ready to stir-fry cuttlefish, Christine grabbed a bag and turned it into this tasty salad based on a Vietnamese squid salad called "Goi Muc". With its spicy, tangy, slightly sweet dressing and bed of cucumber, it is a great summer meal.

Joanne from Eats Well With Others has what she declares is "The best fruit salad ever!" to share this week; a Strawberry Peach Salad with Basil adapted from Cooking Light. The recipe originally called for kiwi, but being allergic Joanne substituted peaches instead to mix with the strawberries, chopped basil and white balsamic vinegar. Joanne says, "Be warned, it's very addictive." 

Our dynamic duo, Crystal and Amir from The Duo Dishes, are at it again, putting their own creative spin on a classic, (this time the BLT), with their Cinnamon Cranberry BLOTA. The Duo says: "It may seem a little weird to slather mayo on your cinnamon bread, but please trust when we say that it was totally fantastic. Buttery avocado, salty bacon, crunchy onions and sweet, tart cranberries in one bite is a great taste bud overload."

Having joined us with soups and salads, Graziana from Erbe in Cucina is here this week with some lovely sammies, her Roast Ham Sandwiches with Chervil. Graiziana says: "I'm growing chervil for the first year and it's surprising me. After a few weeks after the sowing it was ready to be harvested and from a small pot like this I harvest 2 cups of leaves every week. It has a delicate, tangy taste and can be used in salads, cold sauces, sandwiches."

Is it a mini pizza or a sandwich? Is pizza a kind of sandwich? Natashya at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies says it is and offers up her Melanzane Baby Pizzas on Whole Wheat Crust for Souper Sundays this week. Featuring lots of veggies; eggplant, pepper, onion; even carrots in her homemade marinara sauce, Natashya says, "With a whole wheat crust and vegetarian toppings, this one comes fairly close to being virtuous." Virtuous and it looks delicious too!

Yum! Another week of delicious, creative and fun recipes! Thanks to everyone who joined us. If you have a soup, salad, sandwich or combo of any of the above that you would like to share, click on the Souper Sunday logo on the side bar for all the details.

Have a great week and don't forget you have until midnight HST to enter my Betty Crocker Gluten Free Dessert Mixes "Sweet Treats" Giveaway.  Get the details here.