But the food shops also offer a host of other choices, including sushi hand-roll combinations, creative savory pies and a rainbow of smooth cold soups.

Purée to make a smooth soup.

For a very smooth soup, you can pass the soup through a sieve into a clean pan.

Chestnut puree, sold plain and sweetened, can be used for smooth soups, vegetable purees, baked goods and desserts.

Even cooks made nervous by the word "purée" can produce miraculously smooth soups and sauces with a hand blender.

Strips of toasted tortilla add welcome crunch to a smooth black-bean soup with slices of spicy seafood sausage.

The brothers are experts in total command of their subject with beautiful smooth soups, tartes, terrines and grills.

Its thickening agent is usually starch which makes the soup translucent and smooth.

Sweet parsnips and tangy cooking apples combine perfectly in this deliciously smooth soup.

Consider dusting off the demitasse or espresso cups and serving tiny portions of smooth cold soup as a sippable hors d'oeuvre before a dinner party.