Chilled Cucumber Soup Done Three Ways
Because I'm sweating my bum off here
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I agree with
.As he wrote last week, we British are not averse to a bit of hot food on a hot day.
Few things will keep us from our roast dinners even in the height of summer. Besides, it rarely gets above 30 degrees in the UK and it’s usually over in a couple of days.
Having said that, I’m a pale Welsh woman who burns at the slightest exposure to sunlight. I frequently resemble a tomato. Occasionally a beetroot.
Plus despite being only 39, I’ve just found out I’m perimenopausal. Hot sweats and hot kitchens don’t exactly go hand in hand.
In the heat of Portugal this week (it’s been over 30C for over a week now) I have found myself hankering after something more refreshing. Something that doesn’t turn my stomach into a brick of central heating.
This is my roundabout justification for throwing some cold cucumber soup recipes your way this week.
Cucumber is one of those misunderstood vegetables that everyone seems to think has no taste. Only good for the dieter or a rabbit. Celery suffers from the same reputation.
But I’d argue both vegetables have bags of taste. My husband walked in the door just after I’d finished test batching these soups and the first thing he said was:
Have you been doing something with cucumber today?
Yes. Yes I had. And my afternoon was all the better for it. After all, cucumbers are having their moment in the seasonal calendar. Might as well make cucumber soup whilst the sun shines.
Because one of the bylaws of my recipes is that they are flexible, all these recipes are built on a vegan “baseline” which includes cucumber (natch), garlic, herbs, and lemon juice as well as some other storecupboard ingredients.
The difference between each of the recipes is down to the addition of extra ingredients and how you prepare the baseline. Two of them use a blender for super smooth soup. Another is made with grated cucumber and tastes an awful lot like a thinned-out version of the Greek dip Tzatziki. Not that I’m complaining about that.
As always, the variations section has some ways you can personalise the soups to what you have in your pantry and what you love to eat.
Every single one of these soups benefits from time in the fridge both to cool down and to develop the flavours. Anything from an hour to overnight will work.
Whilst the recipes are tried and tested, there is scope for you to play about with the balance of the dish. You might like more or less garlic for instance. Or more or less yoghurt. You might want to sub some of the herbs (check the variations section for ideas).
If you don’t have fresh herbs to hand, swap them for dried.
This not a one-size-fits-all approach. As I always say, you do you.
The baseline
Makes a decent bowl’s worth for one person