Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Amazingly Simple Spicy Chilled Cucumber Soup


Amazingly Simple Spicy Chilled Cucumber Soup
Amazingly Simple Spicy Chilled Cucumber Soup 
I was not planning to post this soup. It is simply way to easy to make. And then I made it for Rachel’s bridal shower. It was a hit, so I decided to go for it! The soup is best if prepared the day before, and then you can serve chilled. There were so many requests for the recipe that I found myself apologizing for its simplicity. So now I will share and ask you to forgive me as well!


If you are looking for a quick, easy and super refreshing meal idea for a crazy hot and humid summer day, look no further. It does not get any better than this, I tell you! There is one small detail though. It really is better if made ahead of time, for it needs to chill and macerate in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I guess the best way to go is to make the night before, or in the morning. That extra time really adds some depth to it.
  • 4 medium regular cucumbers
  • 2 C chicken or veggie stock
  • 4 C sour cream
  • 2 C non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 C low-fat buttermilk
  • 6 Tb snipped fresh dill
  • Cayenne pepper to taste
  • White pepper
  • Salt 

Peel the cucumbers, slice in half longitudinally, using a spoon, scrape out the seeds. Thickly cut the cucumbers up and place on a stack of paper towels. Liberally salt all of them and let them sit for at least 30-45 minutes to draw out the excess water. Then dry cucumbers by blotting with paper towels.
 
Scooping out the seeds
Cucumbers after being salted.
In a Cuisinart with a plastic blade, add cucumbers, sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk and stock. Blend mixture but not to finely as you want crude little chunks. Stir in snipped dill and white and cayenne peppers. I like some spice to my soup – and use 1- 2 tsp or more of cayenne. Taste as you go as the strength of cayenne is highly variable. Adjust salt to taste.

Chill the soup at least 4 hours and better overnight. Serve with small amount of floating dill and a sprinkle of cayenne if you wish. Other possible garnishes include julienned radishes or roasted chopped walnuts.

This is one easy recipe and that results in one spectacular cold summer soup. My humble apologies for its simplicity…just kiddin… :-)

Larue

2 comments:

  1. Simple, perhaps, but exceptional! (Had to come out of lurking for this one.) -R

    ReplyDelete