chilled parsley and romaine soup

It's a true summer day - sweltering heat and humid, and the urge to spend most of your time in the closest available body of water. Happily for me, after dipping my toes in the pond in between errands and appointments, I had this soup ready and chilled in the fridge for a late lunch. Perfectly light, but full of flavor, it was all I needed on this very hot day.

The recipe came to be because I was determined to use all that beautiful produce from the farmers market and the farmstand before it wilted, and the dark, leafy greens of the Italian parsley were especially gorgeous. In the vegetable drawer next to the parsley, sat the head of romaine, so, voila! - a soup was born. Parsley is so often used as a garnish, while it is a very tasty and healthy herb that should be used more as a vegetable. For more flavor in any of your summer salads ( pasta and potato come to mind) just add in a cup of chopped parsley to perk up the taste.

The recipe: ( makes 3 servings)

1 T. olive oil

half of a large white onion, peeled and sliced

2 large cloves peeled garlic

pinch of thyme

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups roughly chopped parsley

2 cups romaine lettuce, roughly chopped

1 t. dried dill, or 1 T. fresh, finely minced

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, then add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic, thyme, and stock and bring to a low boil, then add the parsley and romaine. Cook for 5 minutes and remove to cool for a few minutes.

In two batches, puree the soup in a blender ( it's HOT - be careful!). The immersion blender didn't work well, because the parsley and lettuce were undercooked, and too rough for the immersion stick.

Stir in the dill, a little salt ( you can add more just before serving, if needed), and pepper, and chill for at least an hour.

Garnish with violas, mint, or, if your sugar snaps are blooming - a little pea blossom.

Hope you're enjoying your summer!