Cream of Cucumber Soup

Along with all that has made 2020 a tough year came a bumper crop of cucumbers—over 150???? from our small garden. So what to do with them after adding them to every salad, making panzanella, giving them to Augie (carrots and cukes are favorites of his), and munching through one or twenty with a little salt? Two answers: Cucumber soup and strained cucumber for drinking. The soup seems to get a little spicier with each iteration, which is to the good. Makes a great opening of a meal or a meal in itself. Strained cucumber: grind several up in a blender, then strain until you have a liquid. Add the liquid to seltzer for a great refreshing drink over ice. 

Ingredients

1 pound cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded

2 cups buttermilk (or use 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt plus 1/4 cup water)

1-3, even 4 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed (depending on taste you want)

2 small whole scallions, trimmed

1/2 jalapeño, seeded, deveined and chopped

1/2 cup packed mixed fresh herbs (like mint, parsley, dill, tarragon, basil and cilantro)—I generally use a lot of fresh basil, some mint, some parsley

Add a little red chili flakes for some kick

1-3 teaspoons lemon (or sherry vinegar if you must)

3/4 teaspoon kosher sea salt, plus more to taste

1/2 to 1 avocado if you want the soup to be thicker, with some avocado edge.

To go with the soup

3 or 4 slices of fresh bread, toasted

1-2 avocados, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 lemon or lime

2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving

Freshly ground black pepper

Step 1

Put everything to this point in a blender. Blend. Blend. Blend.

Step 2

To serve, top soup with raw corn kernels (shuck an ear of raw corn), dill if you like that kind of thing, feta if you want that, olive oil to be fancy.

Step 3

Make toast and then crush/spread avocado on top of bread with a fork. Top with feta, maybe a squeeze of lemon or lime.

Notes

Better to make this amount and then make it again than to double and have leftovers; a little left for the next day is fine but this is not going to keep well, and is best eaten fresh