Blueberry Soup

*Beware blueberry teeth -- photos to be held in evidence.

First, the leftovers: Added to a blender, with ice, strawberries, and nonfat yogurt, it made a darn good smoothie this afternoon while I waited for the air conditioner repairman to show.

Sorry – no picture of the soup itself. It’s just deep purple-blue with a nice dollop of yogurt in the middle.

After reading Bittman, I decided I had to try my hand at blueberry soup. I scouted out other recipes and decided on Martha Stewart’s for its lack of extraneous spices. I halved it to make three servings, which was perfect – My sister was coming over the next day, and I could consume a “test” serving the night before.

I didn’t feel like opening a(nother) bottle of wine with just me around this week, so I subbed the apple juice I had on hand to good effect. After straining the blueberries, taking time to squeeze through every last ounce of juice and pulp to leave only skins in the mesh strainer, I wondered to myself what the difference is between soup and juice, but with a dollop of yogurt, it had enough richness to enter soup territory.

So good, and just sweet enough.

Blueberry Soup (3 servings)

¼ c sugar
1 c water
12 oz. blueberries
3 oz. apple juice (1/2 a kid-sized juice carton, if you’re curious)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
3 tablespoons yogurt or buttermilk (I used nonfat Greek yogurt, which was around)
extra sugar or lemon juice (optional)

In a medium saucepan over high heat, stir sugar into water until dissolved; bring to a boil. Add blueberries, wine, and lemon zest, and stir until about half the blueberries have burst. Place mesh sieve over a bowl and pass mixture through it, pushing and scraping with a spoon to get out all the blueberry-ness you can. Stir in lemon juice. Taste, and add sugar or lemon juice as needed: sugar for dessert, lemon juice for a first course. Chill at least a couple of hours. Serve well chilled in a bowl or goblet, adding a dollop of yogurt or buttermilk just before serving.