When Robin Restaurant chef-owner Alec Schingel thinks about soup, his mind goes just as quickly to chilled summertime concoctions as it does to warm, rich wintery comfort fare. “I don’t really view hot and cold soups as being all that different,” says Schingel. “One of your first days in culinary school, you learn how to chop onions, clean leeks and make vichyssoise. Because it’s one of the first things you learn how to make, it never dawned on me to be weird at all.”
Schingel understands that not everyone feels the way he does about cold soups. For many, soup is synonymous with cold weather and steaming stock pots—not a refreshing antidote to sweltering summertime weather. This is a missed opportunity, Schingel insists. With produce at the apex of its ripeness during this time of year, a cold soup can be the perfect way to showcase its peak-of-the-season beauty. He has a few rules of thumb for approaching the genre, as well as a few ideas for chilled summertime soups that go beyond gazpacho.
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Think of cold soups as falling into two categories: raw and cooked. When coming up with ideas for cold soups, Schingel says it’s good to think about them as either raw (which consists of using fruits and veggies in their natural state, just chopped or blended) or as cooked (which involves cooking the components before they are chilled). A gazpacho falls into the former category; a vichyssoise falls into the latter. Breaking things into categories will help you conceptualize recipes, says Schingel.
A hot soup and a cold soup can be the same thing. When he was the daytime sous chef at Vicia, Schingel focused a lot of his attention on the restaurant’s lunch menu. Soups were in regular rotation, and during the times of year when the temperatures fluctuated drastically from day to day, he would come up with recipes that would be just as good hot as they would be cold with minimal modification. If it was warm, the lunch offering would be a chilled tomato soup; if it got below 65 degrees, it would become tomato bisque. Being able to make essentially the same soup either hot or cold makes it the ultimate versatile dish.
Cold soups are often vegetarian by default. Whether you are looking to reduce your meat consumption, are vegetarian, or are trying to incorporate more plant-based eating into your life, cold soups are a great way to do so, says Schingel. While you can incorporate a chicken stock into the dish or use a garnish like bacon lardons for tomato bisque, it’s not necessary, he adds.
Need a nourishing meal in a hurry or on the go? Keep a chilled soup on hand. Although he spends his days and nights cooking for others, Schingel admits that he often fails to take time to sit down and eat. Eating on the go is a way of life for him; without proper planning, it can result in him choosing foods that are not the healthiest options—if he even eats at all. Schingel sees cold soups as an easy solution for this problem. As he sees it, raw soups are akin to puréed salads and can be prepped in advance and stored in the refrigerator, so they are ready for an on-the-go lunch, an after-school snack, or even a few swigs before you are rushing out the door for work.
Gazpacho is great…and there are other cold soups besides gazpacho. Schingel notes that most people immediately go to gazpacho when they hear the words “cold soup,” and for good reason. The ultra fresh, raw soup is easy to make and infinitely versatile, making it adaptable to whatever you have on hand or your particular mood. He suggests this is the easiest place to start if you are new to making cold soups, noting that all you need is some chopped garlic (even the jar stuff works), extra bread, raw onions, and tomatoes. He’ll throw in some bell peppers, maybe some leftover pickled onions and some vinegar, then blend it to his desired consistency and enjoy. Although there are so many versions, Schingel says a good rule of thumb is to use an allium that is strong enough to hold up to vinegar, some vinegar (he recommends sherry vinegar), and some lemon, as well as enough bread to give the soup some body.
Take inspiration from Russia, the Balkans, or Greece for a creamy cold soup. Schingel loves to make raw cucumber soup with yogurt, mint dill, parsley, and cucumbers (as a pro tip, he says not to add any extra water because cucumbers already contain a great deal of water). For body, he likes to add plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche, or any cultured dairy. Depending on herb choices, the result can be Eastern European-inspired or a taste of Greece.
This time of year, you can’t go wrong with a chilled corn soup. For years, a chilled corn soup has been Schingel’s go-to dish during the summer, not only because it is delicious but also because it is quite easy to make. The key, he says, is that you have to wait until you can get really good, sweet corn—and you have to use it quickly because it gets starchier the longer it sits after it is picked. What he loves about the dish is that it’s a crowd-pleaser and can be made ahead of time, so you are not rushing around cooking when guests arrive. Pour it into a pitcher, and serve tableside, maybe with a Tex-Mex style garnish for extra flourish, and your dinner guests will think you are a culinary genius.
Alec Schingel’s Sweet Corn Soup
One of Schingel’s favorite ways to showcase peak-of-the-season produce is in this chilled corn soup. Schingel insists that this crowd-pleaser of a dish is quite easy to make and can be changed up by incorporating different garnishes, whether a Tex-Mex style mango and cilantro salsa or street corn-style. Make it the day ahead of a dinner party, and then serve it tableside out of a pitcher for an impressive flourish.
Ingredients:
- 8 ears corn
- 2 large yellow onions
- 1 stick/1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Salt to taste
Directions:
- Start by dicing both yellow onions and sweating them with 1/2 stick of butter over medium heat. Try not to have the onions get any color while they cook. Add a heavy pinch of salt at the beginning, and continue to season with small pinches throughout the entire process.
- While your onions are slowly cooking, shuck the corn and cut all of the kernels off the cobs. Place all of the cobs in a stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer, and cook for at least 30 minutes.
- Once your onions are tender, add the corn to the same pot with the onions and butter, and add the rest of the butter and another heavy pinch of salt. Stir the whole mixture frequently over medium-low heat.
- Once your corn stock is ready, remove the cobs and begin adding the stock to the mixture with onions and corn to resemble the texture of risotto or creamed corn. Turn the heat up a little to maintain a simmer. Continue to add the corn stock a few ladles at a time.
- After about 10 minutes of simmering, add the cream and another cup of the corn stock and bring back to a simmer. Purée with a high-quality blender, such as Vita Mix, and pass through a fine mesh strainer. Cool in an ice bath for best food safety practices.
- Once the soup is cold, recheck the seasoning and the thickness. Sometimes batches of corn will have more starch and can thicken up to appear almost as thick as pudding. Adjust by whisking in a little of the corn stock (if you have it) or water.
