Recipes

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Ingredients
2 English cucumbers
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon togarashi [available in Japanese markets]
1/4 cup peeled, 1-inch-long julienne cucumber
1/4 cup peeled, 1-inch-long julienne green apple
8 teaspoons diced jicama
4 teaspoons fresh dill
4 teaspoons Dill Oil

Instructions
Cut one of the English cucumbers into eight 1-inch pieces. Using a round cutter or a paring knife, remove the skin from the cucumber. Hollow out the inside of the cucumber pieces using a Parisian scoop to make 8 cups. Transfer the pulp to a blender with the remaining cucumber and 1 teaspoon salt, and purée until smooth. Strain the cucumber purée through 3 layers of cheesecloth, letting it sit in the refrigerator until all of the liquid has passed through. Season with salt if necessary and keep refrigerated until needed. Place the cucumber cups in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the pan and cool completely. Combine the yogurt, lemon juice and togarashi in a small bowl. Place the julienne cucumber and apple in a separate small bowl and toss with the yogurt mixture.
Place 2 of the cucumber cups in the center of each bowl. Fill each cup with some of the julienne cucumber and apple mixture. Place the diced jicama around the cucumber cups. Ladle some of the cold cucumber broth in each bowl and sprinkle the fresh dill on top of the broth.

posted by Cassandra Vires at 10:43 AM