A simple, low calorie cold Cucumber Soup recipe using Greek yogurt and your choice of fresh herbs. It is cheap, simple to prepare, and does not involve heating the kitchen, which makes it suitable for making on a hot summer day.
Cold Cucumber Soup
A cold soup in a hot season, for example, this cucumber soup is great both as a first dish before a main course and as an appetizer with a sandwich during lunch. It's like a salad in which people are submerged and removed from their everyday lives!
The recipe for cooler cucumber soup can be decorated with many variations but for my recipe I have chosen Mediterranean vegetables, such as cucumbers for base, yogurt for body, shallots for aroma, fresh dill and mint for flavor, and lemon juice as the kicker. Eating it with the cucumber-walnut garnish makes it that much more substantial and it picks up a wee bit of fat to boot. The crunchy texture of the walnuts is a nice contrast to the smoothness of the soup.
It does need a few hours in the fridge to meld but after 24 hours it starts to taste bitter so just chill for as little as needed.
How to Make Cucumber Soup
This is a very simple cucumber soup recipe: You just put all the ingredients into a blender! Please check the following recipe card for detailed preparation instructions.
Prep the Cucumbers:
Slice a 4 inch long part of one of the cucumbers. Cut it in half, take out the seeds and then chop it very finely, to use as the garnish. Remove the skin from the rest of the cucumbers and the seeds and roughly chop the cucumbers.
Blend the Soup:
Place the cucumber (skin removed), yogurt, shallot, herbs, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the blender and process until the mixture is smooth. To make it thick use more cucumber to thicken it and add a bit of water until you get the consistency you want.
Refrigerate the cucumber soup for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Stir the soup before you serve it and taste it to see if you need more salt and pepper, then just add what you need.
Walnut Garnish:
Reserve the cucumber, walnuts, oil and seasons, drain the excess vinegar, and lightly pinch of salt.
How to Serve Cucumber Soup:
Pour the soup into bowls, add garnishing ingredients on top, and then sprinkle chopped fresh dill.
Variations
- Cucumbers: English cucumbers are the ideal choice for this soup, though you can also use the regular ones if that's what's on hand.
- Yogurt: Use whole milk or low fat Greek yogurt if you want.
- Herbs: Use tarragon or basil instead of one of the other herbs.
- Nuts: Try pecan or almond in place of the walnuts.
What to Serve with Cold Cucumber Soup
Since cold cucumber soup is consumed as a first course, the dishes to accompany it should complement it. Although this rather plain cucumber soup can be okay as a slice with bread for a lunch dish, it may also be served either as a first course or as a vegetable side dish at dinner time. Below are some serving suggestions:
Green Salads:
- Corn, tomato and avocado salad
- Watermelon, spinach and feta salad
- Nicoise salad
Sandwiches:
- Open-Faced Tuna Sandwich
- Heirloom Tomato Sandwich
- Grilled Chicken Panini
Protein:
- Steak
- Lemon-Dijon Olive Skewers
- Herb & Dijon Pork Chops
Grilled Seafood:
- Grilled shrimp
- Grilled salmon bruschetta
- Grilled crab legs
Summer Salads:
- Easy Greek pasta salad
- Grilled Corn salad
- Mediterranean bean salad
