I've been making cucumber soup for as long as we've had a garden, which is going on 30 years now. One of the challenges of growing your own food is finding a way to turn lots and lots of veggies into breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So anytime I can take an armload of produce and make it into a main course, I'm sold. I've tried five? seven? ten? different recipes over the years and learned a few things along the way: I don't like chilled soups that cook any ingredients. I want the bright, fresh taste of my raw veggies to really shine. I also don't like versions that call for stock. I find them too soup-like. This meal, at its best, is spoonfuls of juice and crunch and green.
Makes 2-4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded
- 1 1/2 pounds cucumber, peeled and seeded
- 1 bunch fresh chives (about a half-cup)
- 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 cup plain, whole fat yogurt (can be Greek-style or no)
- a few cucumber slices and snips of chives for garnish
Instructions
- Drop garlic, salt and pepper into food processor with a knife blade or powerful Vitamin-style blender. Process until ingredients become consistency of a paste.
- Add onion and jalapeño and chop. Then add cucumber, chives, and avocado, process until all is well-chopped and soup-like.
- Remove from processor or blender into medium mixing bowl. Add lemon zest and juice, then yogurt. Stir well.
- Divide soup into individual serving bowls, then cover with plastic wrap pressed directly atop soup and refrigerate. After well-chilled, remove from fridge, garnish and serve cold.
