Chilled Soups: Cucumber
I am a great fan of chilled soup in summertime. It's the perfect light dinner at the end of a steaming, hot, day when the thought of a heavy meal is enough to send you to bed without your supper.
Generally my chilled soup has been a one trick pony limited to my random-ingredient gazpacho. However, after reading this month's Southern Living (a magazine I will continue to subscribe to even though I now live in Colorado, yes, it's that good.) I was inspired to try their recipe for Chilled Cucumber Soup.
What follows is my version, since I am spiritually and temperamentally incapable of following anyone's recipe to the letter...
Begin by roughly chopping one large English (seedless) cucumber and two green onions. Toss them into the bowl of the food processor.
Add about 1/2 cup each chicken stock and plain Greek yogurt to food processor bowl.
Process until smooth, then taste. At this point you may want to add salt and white pepper. Because the cucumber, yogurt, and stock provide such a blank canvas, this is your opportunity to experiment with different herbs or spices. However, keep a light touch, as you don't want to completely lose the essence of the cucumber.
I threw in the last remaining tablespoon of rondele herb and garlic soft cheese, just to thicken the soup and provide an extra bit of flavor. Once the soup has been processed one final time to incorporate all the flavors, chill it over night in the fridge so that the flavors have time to merge.
Voila! This creamy, yet refreshingly light soup will be your reward the next evening.
If you're inspired to try chilled soups, check out this terrific gallery of more low-fat chilled soup options at Sunset magazine.
Generally my chilled soup has been a one trick pony limited to my random-ingredient gazpacho. However, after reading this month's Southern Living (a magazine I will continue to subscribe to even though I now live in Colorado, yes, it's that good.) I was inspired to try their recipe for Chilled Cucumber Soup.
What follows is my version, since I am spiritually and temperamentally incapable of following anyone's recipe to the letter...
Begin by roughly chopping one large English (seedless) cucumber and two green onions. Toss them into the bowl of the food processor.
Add about 1/2 cup each chicken stock and plain Greek yogurt to food processor bowl.
Process until smooth, then taste. At this point you may want to add salt and white pepper. Because the cucumber, yogurt, and stock provide such a blank canvas, this is your opportunity to experiment with different herbs or spices. However, keep a light touch, as you don't want to completely lose the essence of the cucumber.
I threw in the last remaining tablespoon of rondele herb and garlic soft cheese, just to thicken the soup and provide an extra bit of flavor. Once the soup has been processed one final time to incorporate all the flavors, chill it over night in the fridge so that the flavors have time to merge.
Voila! This creamy, yet refreshingly light soup will be your reward the next evening.
If you're inspired to try chilled soups, check out this terrific gallery of more low-fat chilled soup options at Sunset magazine.
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