This oh-so-refreshing soup is a lovely start for any summer meal, a cooling intermission between courses, or an accompaniment to spicy entrées. This is a rich soup; a good serving size is ⅔ cup.
The art of muddling is easily learned, just be careful not to overmuddle delicate leaves like mint and basil, because the end result will be bitter. Press the leaves, don’t shred them.
Yields 4 cups
Serves 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: at least 20 minutes
1 ounce fresh mint, stemmed (about 1½ cups)
1 ounce fresh basil, stemmed (about 1½ cups)
1 cup coconut water*
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
1 cup chopped fresh mango (preferably the small yellow, champagne variety)
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
*Look for pure coconut water, without any flavorings or additives. The package ingredient list should read: fresh coconut and water.
Place the herbs and coconut water in a bowl. Using a wooden spoon, muddler, or pestle, press the herbs into the coconut water and against the side of the bowl until the herbs wilt and shrink in volume. The goal is to infuse the coconut water with the flavor and aroma of mint and basil. Be gentle: the coconut water may turn cloudy, but there should not be any green bits floating in the solution. Set the bowl aside while you prepare the fruit.
Put the pineapple and mango pieces and the coconut milk into a blender. Strain the muddled coconut water into the blender, gently squeezing the herbs to extract the maximum amount of flavored liquid. Purée until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before serving; the purée will thicken as it chills.
Serve with Burmese Tohu Thoke or Two Potato Tomato Curry with Yellow Split Pea Dal.