Maizes zupa -- Latvian Bread Soup

Serves 2

• 150 g stale or toasted dark rye bread¹
• 2 cups (1/2 l) boiling water
• 20 g sugar
• 20 g brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cranberry juice concentrate²
• 40 g dried fruit (apples, raisins, prunes), finely chopped
• cinnamon
• ground cloves
• sweetened whipped cream³

Traditional Method: Soak bread in water until soft, then force through a fine sieve.

My method: Grate toasted bread coarsely (we used our food processor), then bring water to a boil in a small sauce pot. Soak bread in water until nicely soft.

Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves and fruit. Add water as necessary to make it soup-y. Cook over low heat until soup is the consistency desired and the fruit flavors have permeated throughout. Remove from heat and stir in cranberry concentrate (if using).

Chill thoroughly. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Notes:

1. No dark rye? Try the darkest pumpernickel you can find. It won't be the same, but you'll get the idea
2. Why cranberry concentrate? Because outside of Thanksgiving, frozen plain cranberries aren't available in my local stores. I did, however, have a not-so-sweet jar of cranberry concentrate that served well.
   
3. I'm not even going to tell you what the recipe originally called for when it came to the whipped cream. Ever tried to whip less than a tablespoon? Just whip up a small batch or use a bit of Cool Whip that's hanging about in the freezer.