September 9, 2013

Chilled Cucumber Soup

I never used to like the idea of cold soups until I actually gave them a try.  The complimentary cucumber soup shooter I had at Colicchio and Sons back in May was in a petite white porcelain cup and was perfectly creamy and balanced.  Weeks later I had a spicy cucumber soup shooter at The Stanton Social.  When I got a pile of cucumbers from work last week, chilled cucumber soup came to mind immediately.  

I looked up a handful of recipes and morphed them into this recipe, adding a jalapeno for some kick and a celery stick for some extra depth.  This is a great soup to serve in shot glasses or sake cups before a meal to rev up your guests’ appetites. 

Dry Cucumber Soda is one of my favorites, and it's a perfect drink to sip while making chilled cucumber soup!

The great thing about this soup is that you can easily adjust it to suit your individual taste by dropping a bit of this and that into the blender or food processor.  We’re quickly moving away from cold soup weather so I’d suggest making this soon.  I just had a big bowl of hot short rib ramen at Ganso in Brooklyn tonight so I’m already transitioning into hot soups, which I admit I’m pretty excited for. 


RECIPE

Makes 3 cups

4 cups roughly chopped kirby cucumbers
1 jalapeno, stem removed
1/4 cup roughly chopped shallot
1 celery stalk (from the celery heart)
1/4 cup packed basil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt

1.  Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Blend until smooth.

2.  If you want a fairly smooth soup, strain it through a sieve.  If you want a completely smooth soup, strain it through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.

3.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil or chile oil in small bowls or in shot glasses for fun cucumber soup shooters.


























5 comments:

  1. This looks delicious, I can't wait to try it when the weather warms up again - freezing in London right now!

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  2. Hi Rachel, thanks for stopping by! I hope things warm up soon so you can try this soup.

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  3. This looks so saucy and delicious and would make a wonderful meal any time of year! 

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