It's the tail end of summer and my local farmer's market is bursting with cucumbers. Baskets are overflowing with bumpy, crunchy picklers and cool, mild slicers. Lemon cukes practically beg to be eaten like apples. My three-year-old loves cucumbers and she picks one from every produce vendor at the market as we go along. "Here comes the cucumber girl," they say. I then drag my heavy bag home and whip up a batch of cold cucumber soup. I love soup. It's a comfort food for me and I eat it year-round. All summer long I make quarts and quarts of cold soups like gazpacho or vichyssoise, but to me, icy, cucumber soup is the most refreshing of the bunch. It's like summer in a bowl.
I don't usually measure when I cook so bear with the loose amounts. Really, everything is to your own taste, so don't be afraid to experiment. This soup can be made in minutes, but allow plenty of time for it to chill.
Cold Cucumber Soup
-
2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and grated with a box grater or food processor
- 1 finely minced garlic clove
- a half-palmful of minced, fresh dill
- 2 big wooden spoonfuls each (roughly 2/3 cup each): Russian-style (thick) sour cream and Greek whole-milk yogurt (like Fage brand, available at Trader Joe's)
- 1/2 box organic free-range chicken broth
- salt and white pepper (if you have it, black if you don't) to taste
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