Rose Hip Soup

A few weeks ago when my friend, Rikard - who lives in Stockholm, was feeling sickly, he told me about a Swedish "treat" given to make you feel better.  It sounded so yummy!  Amazon has a listing for individual serving packets of  Rose Hip Fruit Soup... but it's out of stock. And if it's anywhere near the blackberry one they do have in price, it's a little out of my budget right now.  So I went searching for a recipe to make my own.

You need:
1 quart rose hip juice or puree (fresh or canned -  or you can make the juice)
2-4 Tbl honey (to taste)
1-3 Tbl lemon juice (to taste)
1 Tbl cornstarch

Heat the juice or puree, honey and lemon juice.  Adjust the honey and lemon juice to arrive at a tart/sweet and lively, fruity flavor.  Mix the cornstarch with just enough cold water to moisten and stir in.  Cook until soup thickens slightly and clears.  Makes 6 servings.

The recipe suggests floating a spoonful of yogurt or sour cream on top of each serving.  But, I like Rikard's idea better!  Float a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it.

Now that is a treat worth getting sick for!!

To make your own juice, soak 1/2 cup dried rose hips (or use 1 cup fresh) in 1 quart of water for a few minutes then cook until soft.  Mash with a fork and strain.  Reserve liquid.  Add 1 cup of water to the pulp and bring to a boil then strain.  Discard pulp.  Combine the juice from both strainings to make your soup.

To make into a pudding, use 5-6 Tbl cornstarch to make it thicker.  I imagine this is quite similar to what I grew up knowing as Danish Dessert and use to make fresh strawberry pie.

Guess who'is going to be collecting and dehydrating rose hips next summer?  Me!!!