My husband Lulu gathered so many Marketmore cucumbers from our vegetable box over the weekend that our family’s had to work hard to keep up. I made the family’s favorite cucumber sandwiches and once we had our fill of those, I made a big bowl of cold cucumber soup. I realized that cucumbers can taste pretty mild, so I added smoked blue cheese and plenty of fresh herbs to ampup the flavor.
Planting your own vegetables can be so rewarding, plus I’ve noticed that homegrown cucumbers are so much more fragrant than the one from the market. I could actually smell the soup in the kitchen from my front door!
I still have a few cucumbers left from this batch, so I’ll probably make some raita (Indian yogurt sauce) for tomorrow. Do you have any suggestions?
1. Info for Cucumber Soup Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 6
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Cucumber Soup Recipe
- 5 cucumbers
- 1½ teaspoons coarse sea salt
- 4 cups plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon smoked blue cheese (see tips)
- 1 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon walnut oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
3. Directions:
- Prepping the cucumbers: If you’re using Marketmore cucumbers (they’re very easy to grow), be sure to peel the cucumbers completely as the skin is spiky. Cut them in half lengthwise and use a spoon to remove the seeds. Cut the cucumbers into slices and sprinkle with salt.
- For the soup: In a blender, combine the cucumbers (reserve a few slices for garnish), blue cheese and 3½ cups yogurt. For a smoother flow, add up to 1¼ water. Add the blue cheese, onions, fresh herbs and walnut oil. Blend until well combined. Season with pepper. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Note: The soup can be prepared in advance.
- For the garnish: Mix the reserved cucumber slices in the fresh herbs. Thread the slices on small skewers and alternate with a few whole mint leaves.
- Assembly time: Check seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. Place the chilled soup into chilled glasses. Finish with a dollop of plain yogurt. Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper. Garnish with the cucumber picks.
- Serve with cheese twists.
- Bon appétit!
4. Tips and advices:
- I served the chilled soup as a first course and cucumber sandwiches as the main course.
- For added flavor, you can finish the soup with a dollop of crème fraîche in place of the yogurt.
- I used Salemville Smokehaus blue cheese (Applewood smoked).
- I used onions from the garden; they are so fragrant!
- Marketmore cucumbers. These 2 cucumbers fused.