28 zesty soup recipes

Elegant pureed soup with apples, maple syrup, cinnamon, lemon, and white wine. Thickened with arrowroot and finished with sour cream. Serve warm for a sophisticated starter or light dessert.

Rabbit almondine, an old-school braise where flour-coated rabbit pieces simmer in herbed chicken broth, then finish in a sour cream gravy with toasted slivered almonds. Country French comfort food with rustic bones.

Creamy lemon sauce for grilled or baked shark with sour cream, crushed pineapple, lemon zest, green bell pepper, and a hint of ground cloves. No-cook, make-ahead condiment.

Breaded pork chops braised until tender, topped with a warm sour cherry sauce spiked with cinnamon, cloves, honey, and Madeira wine. An elegant but approachable dinner.

Mile-high fig pie with a sour cream and dried fig filling, chopped walnuts, and a towering meringue topping baked golden. A vintage showstopper dessert.

Grilled venison steaks rubbed with paprika, cumin, coriander, curry, and cayenne, then served with avocado-coriander cream. Bold spice rub tames the gaminess of wild game.

Lemon roll-out cookies with sour cream, lemon zest and lemon extract, brushed with fresh lemon juice before baking. Tender citrus shortbread for tea trays and gift tins.

Sour cherry fruit slump: tart cherries and summer berries bubbling under tender buttermilk dumplings, finished with cinnamon sugar. An old-school stovetop dessert that's faster than a pie.

Sunny cocoa drop cookies are light chocolate-orange cookies made with corn oil spread and sour cream, then finished with a glossy cocoa drizzle. Lower-fat drop cookie, four dozen per batch.

Lemon coleslaw with a creamy Dijon-horseradish dressing, colorful bell pepper matchsticks, red onion, carrot, and fresh lemon zest. Bright, tangy, and crunchy.

Ginger glazed salmon broiled with a soy, lime and brown sugar glaze, served with a bright green herb sauce of cilantro, mint, parsley, and jalapeno. A restaurant-style dinner ready in under 30 minutes.

Sweet and spicy onion glaze from just three pantry ingredients: apricot preserves, onion soup mix, and zesty dressing. A no-cook brush-on glaze for chicken, ribs, kabobs, burgers, and franks.