Gazpacho is a cool summer soup of fresh vegetables. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Our backyard gardens are beginning to bear fruit, and the variety of summer produce at local farmers’ markets is expanding. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and red onions are easy find. Put them all together, add a bit of garlic, and you’re on your way to a cool summer dinner of gazpacho.

We had our first gazpacho of the season this week, dining on our side porch in the late-spring evening light. I think of this as a simple meal: Prepare and chill a batch of this rich, chilled tomato soup. Procure a bread – we had an asiago cheese baguette from the local grocery. And serve it with your favorite red wine – I went for a glass of the Coppola Claret, a robust red that goes just right with the tangy soup. Read the full story

The Davidson Housing Coalition Souper Bowl's award-winning carrot ginger soup from Restaurant X. (Nikki Moore/DavidsonNews.net photos)

By NIKKI SAWYER MOORE
DavidsonNews.net

Winner of “Best Overall Soup” at Davidson Housing Coalition’s 2010 Souper Bowl Competition was the carrot ginger soup by Chris Phillips,co-owner and chef at by Restaurant X on South Main Street in Davidson.

Maybe I don’t give carrots enough credit, but I had a hard time believing a soup made from the lowly carrot had taken top honors against a field of worthy soups made by local restaurants. Frankly, I just didn’t think that the orange root vegetable had the star quality to pull it off.

So, it was with great doubt that I stopped by Restaurant X to try the soup for myself. Upon my arrival, co-owner and manager Christina Phillips served me a cup of the soup and left me alone with it. I’m glad she did. I needed some time with this soup; time to wrap my head around the fact that something this delicious could be made with carrots.

The soup, a thick puree, is bright orange with an enticing aroma. A spoonful, with its bits of fresh ginger and hints of curry, tastes exotic, but manages to still be surprisingly comforting. It’s something you can imagine eating at home on a rainy day.

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