Recipe: Chilled, grilled vegetable soup

Fusilli salad has long been the most popular food at summer gatherings with my family. Everything else is kind of a let-down compared to this tasty combination of pasta, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion and spinach.

Yield: apx. 5 cups
Time to prepare and grill vegetables: 35 minutes
Soup prep time: 5 minutes
Simmer time: 30 minutes
Chill time: 4-24 hours
Cost: apx. $13.50

Ingredients

• 3 cups leftover grilled vegetables*
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 tomato, preferably a summer tomato (grown locally) seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 2-3 tablespoons strained Greek Yogurt, optional

*I used a combination of leftover grilled plum tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, red onion and fennel. Asparagus would have been a great seasonal addition. Any combination of these vegetables or others would be excellent in the soup. Trim stem ends of vegetables and remove eggplant skin before puréeing.

Directions

1. In a food processor, purée roasted vegetables.
2. Transfer vegetables to a medium-sized stock pot and bring puréed vegetables and stock to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, occasionally stirring, for flavors to combine.
3. Turn off heat and stir in tarragon and diced tomato. Chill soup at least 4 hours before serving; the soup will thicken when chilled, so add a bit of stock if you'd prefer a thinner soup. Garnish with dollops of yogurt if desired.

This recipe was written by Jessica Webster and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on May 29, 2010.