Secret Ingredients
- 3 pints strawberries, washed and hulled
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed (from about 4 oranges)
- 6 inches piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 -5 stalks lemongrass (tough outer leaves removed, tender inner stalks lightly smashed and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds)
- 2 cups mint, fresh, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup sugar
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Directions
- Set aside 1/2 pint of the strawberries and thinly slice the rest.
- Place the sliced strawberries in a large saucepan and add the water, orange juice, ginger, lemongrass, mint and sugar, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for five minutes.
- Remove from heat and set aside to steep for an hour.
- After steeping, strain the strawberry mixture through a fine sieve, mashing the strawberries to get the maximum strained liquid.
- Discard the solids.
- Cover and refrigerate the liquid--your strawberry soup--until well chilled--at least two hours.
- Meanwhile, cut the reserved 1/2 pint of strawberries into 1/4" dice, place in a small bowl, cover and refrigerate.
- When ready to serve, place a small mound of diced strawberries in the center of each shallow soup plate or bowl, pour the chilled soup around the berries and serve.
- Note 1: You can, if you wish, serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Note 2: You can combine 1/2 cup of the soup with 1/2 cup of champagne for a lovely summer cocktail or with 1/2 cup of sparkling water for a non-alcoholic version.
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