Refreshing Cool as a Cucumber Soup

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Cold Cucumber Soup - www.inhabitedkitchen.comIt is July – the hot weather and the cucumbers are, cooperatively, appearing together.

Cool as a cucumber, we say… and for good reason. Cukes have a high water content and are always cool and refreshing. For that reason, they are very popular in the hot climates of the Eastern Mediterranean – in chopped salads, sliced, and in a variety of cold soups.

Cucumber goes beautifully with yogurt, or, indeed, any other tangy cultured milk.  Cucumbers marinated in sour cream make a lovely rich salad. This cucumber soup – so thin and liquid it can be easily drunk from a glass, instead of eaten with a spoon – is a classic, and couldn’t be easier.

Cut up cukes - www.inhabitedkitchen.comI took a cucumber and cut it into chunks, to blend easily. Many recipes call for seeding it. I don’t bother, as long as the seeds are still soft and undeveloped – but I would if they were starting to grow bigger and a little woody. Then I simply dropped the cucumber pieces into the blender.

Fresh dillweed - www.inhabitedkitchen.comI had fresh dill, also. Again, dill and cucumbers are a classic combination – as is dill and yogurt. If I didn’t have dill, mint is equally traditional, though it takes the flavor in a different direction – just as refreshing! And if I didn’t have the fresh herbs, a teaspoon of dried dillweed or mint would also work – though fresh is nicer. I trimmed out the stalks, as they can become fibery and tough, and roughly chopped the dillweed. Chopped dill - www.inhabitedkitchen.comI just took part of a bunch, and did it more or less by eye – but when I measured, I had about a quarter of a cup. I put that in the blender with the cukes. Another time I might also add the greens from a scallion – but we don’t like too sharp an onion flavor. If you do like raw onion or garlic, they’re also nice additions.

A pint of yogurt - www.inhabitedkitchen.comThen I got the yogurt. As it happens, I had so called “European yogurt” – which in our store seems to be simply stirred yogurt… more liquid than solid. If you have a firmer yogurt, you can just stir it to liquify it enough to measure easily – and then the blender will liquify it completely. I added 2 cups of yogurt.

Blended Cucumber Soup - www.inhabitedkitchen.comThen I simply turned on the blender. For the first minute or so, it looks as if nothing is happening… but then, as the cucumbers liquify, it all starts moving and blending. I did stop it after a minute or two, to scrape down the yogurt sticking to the sides, and then turned it on for another minute. And there I had it – cold cucumber soup, with  dill.

I poured it into soup mugs and served it as a first course – but we actually drank it, instead of using spoons. I could easily serve it as the beverage with other food. It is light, refreshing, tangy… perfect on a humid 90 degree day! Cool as a Cumber Soup - www.inhabitedkitchen.com

 

Yields 3 cups

Refreshing Cool as a Cucumber Soup

A light, refreshing cucumber soup - made in minutes, and perfect on a hot humid day.

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 1 large cucumber
  • 1/4 c chopped dillweed, coarse stems removed
  • 2 c yogurt

Instructions

  1. Cut the cucumber in chunks. Seed if the seeds are mature and woody - if they're still immature and soft you may not need to.
  2. Place all ingredients into a blender, and liquefy. Stop the machine once or twice to stir down.

Notes

Serve chilled.

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2 thoughts on “Refreshing Cool as a Cucumber Soup”

  • Looks lovely :) Also, useful to a friend of mine whose gardening post appeared not too far from yours in my news feed: http://fwigf.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-word-on-anticipated-harvest.html
  • Ah, yes. It must be a good year for cucumbers. I don't have 42 - but I do have 8... Which, in fact, was one reason this seemed a good idea! Slicing them into salads only goes so far.

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