Strawberry Lemongrass Prosecco Soup for your summer brunch

Since strawberries are almost ripe for the picking- it's time to enhance your berry repertoire. Perfect for a wedding shower or summer brunch this cold, thick soup is easy to make and delightful to sip. Rob Caldwell made it easily on 207 last week. Everyone in the news room thought it was elegant and summer-y. If you go strawberry picking, use up any bruised berries in this recipe. The soup is macerated so save the pretty berries for garnish. Note the beautiful bowl from Sheepscot Pottery. John and Karen Oakey make bowls of many sizes and patterns. This one is large enough to be a fountain- and serves enough soup for dozens of happy mouths.

Strawberry Lemongrass Prosecco Soup
This slightly sweet dessert soup is perfect for a wedding brunch or shower. Anytime you’ve got fresh berries available is the right time for a light, delicious soup. Prosecco is a sparkling Italian wine that is readily available. If you can’t find it, you can substitute champagne.
Serves 8 to 12
2 c water
1 3-oz pouch liquid pectin (Certo or your favorite brand)
1⁄2 c sugar
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped or grated
6 c strawberries, quartered
2 lemons, juice and zest
4 c prosecco

Garnish:
6 strawberries
1 carambola (star fruit) or 1 lemon, seeded and thinly sliced
zest from 1 lemon, finely chopped

Combine the water, pectin, sugar, and lemongrass in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from heat.
Place the strawberries in a blender or food processor. Purée the strawberries. Add the grated lemon zest and juice and puree again. Place the purée in a large bowl. Set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl and pour the hot lemongrass liquid through it. Adjust sweetness, if necessary.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. When you’re ready to serve, add the prosecco to the bowl and gently stir to combine. Serve garnished with strawberries, thin slices of star fruit, and a sprinkle of lemon zest.

Farmer's Market Pasta Salad on NBC

The Farmer's Markets are bursting with color these days. The vegetables, still warm from the sun, restore my faith in the simple, beautiful things in life. It makes such a difference to know that the food you're eating was grown in your neighborhood and tended by hands that truly cared about what you put on your plate. So Wonderful.
I had some fun this week. I appeared on WCSH6 for a cooking segment on 207. They are now posting all of their kitchtn segments online with streaming video. If you'd like to see it follow the link to 207. Rob Caldwell and I put together a colorful Farmer's Market Pasta Salad. It looked as good as it tasted! Hope you have a chance to eat all your colors today.

Farmer’s Market Pasta Salad
This salad is not a pasta salad that thinks about vegetables- It's a crisp, fresh, crunchy salad that is enhanced with pasta. Add grilled chicken for a complete meal.
Dressing:
3/4 c olive oil
1⁄2 c balsamic vinegar
1 T mustard
2 T finely chopped fresh basil
1 T finely chopped fresh chives
2 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 handful fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t brown sugar- optional
Salad:
2 c fresh garden tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 c yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 c cucumber, coarsely chopped
1 c broccoli florets, cut in bite sized pieces
1 c sweet red or Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped
1 c celery, coarsely chopped
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced or coarsely shredded
10 fresh large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 lb small mozzarella balls, or mozzarella cheese
1 lb whole wheat, spelt or spinach pasta- cooked just barely to al dente
Chive blossoms for garnish
Place the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together until completely incorporated. Set aside.
Wash and chop the vegetables. Add all of the vegetables and cheese to the bowl. Toss with the dressing and let marinate in the fridge overnight. The pasta will absorb the dressing as it sits. Toss before serving. Add a little drizzle of oil and vinegar if you need moisture. Serve with fresh crusty whole grain bread and chive blossoms for garnish.