Cool Cucumber Soup... With a Twist!, page 1

Cool cucumber soup is just what the name implies: A refreshing summer-time side dish, served cold. There are many recipies out there that call for a myriad of varying ingredients, but the basics are cucumber, onion, garlic, base broth, dairy to make it creamy, herbs such as dill, parsley, basil, and then just salt and pepper. You can use this list to get an idea and make it from scratch, I will add approximate recipe and instructions below.

The twist I spoke of came to me in a dream. In this dream I was making the soup, and I used green tea as a base instead of vegetable broth. Upon waking I decided that wouldnt be a bad substitution, another cool refreshing summer-time beverage, it fits in with the whole theme of the soup. This afternoon I decided to give it a go. Surprisingly it came out rather well, the green tea doesnt throw off the flavor at all. Maybe its not surprising that green tea worked, what is surprising is that I got the idea in a dream.

I made this by scratch, so the amounts may be adjusted accordingly. I didnt want to make too much only to find out the green tea made it disgusting, this is enough for 2-3 bowls worth of soup. You can do a google search for 'Cool Cucumber Soup' to find alternate recipes, but the recipes will vary wildly.

Without further adieu, here is the recipe:

1 Large Cucumber
1/2 Small to medium onion
1 mug green tea
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 tbsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
a few sprigs of dill and basil
some cooking oil to saute vegetables

*Note: Start with a saucepan or stock pot large enough to simmer final product in. Saute veggies in this.

I started by brewing a mug of green tea. I diced one large cucumber into 1/2 inch chunks. I diced half a small-medium onion, and sauteed these over medium heat in EVOO until both the onions and the very edges of the cucumber were translucent. To this I added a few sprigs of garden-fresh dill and basil, finely chopped. I let the heat bring the flavors out of the herbs until I could smell it. I added the mug of green tea, then I added salt and pepper to taste, maybe 1 tbsp of salt, and 1 tsp of pepper. I brought this to a simmer, then added 5-6 dollops of sour cream, totaling roughly 1 cup. Stir until the sour cream is evenly distributed. Bring it up to a simmer again, and as soon as it starts to simmer take it off the heat.

You can now keep the soup in its present state with chunks of cucumber and onion, or if you prefer, you can puree the whole thing (allow it to cool a bit before blending!). Whether it be in chunks or pureed, leave it in the refrigerator 1-2 hours until chilled.

Serve cold. When you are serving it, usually you add 1 small dollop of sour cream right in the center of the bowl as garnish. You may also choose to stick a fresh sprig of dill or basil in the side as well. Enjoy!

You may choose to omit the green tea the first time you try it, but no matter which way you make it, let me know how it turned out!

edit on 4-8-2011 by IntegratedInstigator because: to format the list better

edit on 4-8-2011 by IntegratedInstigator because: (no reason given)