Chilled Cucumber Soup
Growing up, there was absolutely nothing that signaled summer to Evan Dannells more than his mother's chilled cucumber soup. He'd always ask for it after a hot day of playing outside. She would walk straight out to the garden, harvest an onion and a few cucumbers, and do some sort of motherly magic in the kitchen. He'd hear the blender buzz and in a couple of minutes he’d have a cup of this savory light green chilled deliciousness to cool off with. Sadly, when his mother passed away, so did the recipe. For years he tried to get the recipe right (to no avail) until finally, decades later, he found a recipe in a vintage cookbook and started to play with these flavors again. It took a few drafts, but Dannells believes he’s made something that's both simple and a bit more adjusted to the modern palate.
He recommends making the cooked component ahead of time and keeping portions of it frozen, ready for a couple of fresh cucumbers and some dill every time you want a new batch. The cooked cucumber onion mixture adds a lot of depth of flavor and a silky texture to the finished product. If you follow this tip, be sure to freeze the mixture in containers that have a diameter smaller than your blender so you can pop it in straight from the freezer!
Ingredients
4–5 cucumbers
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon celery salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 fresh bay leaf (or a pinch of ground bay leaf, if you prefer)
½ cup water
2 cups half-and-half or whole milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Juice of ½ lemon
Directions
Peel and slice 2 cucumbers. Leave the other 2 or 3 cucumbers unpeeled, but halve them and remove the seeds. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and the peeled, sliced cucumber. Sweat until the vegetables are translucent. Add the sugar, salt, celery salt, white pepper, bay leaf and water. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, then remove the bay leaf. Place this mixture in a small container and chill. You can do this a few hours in advance, or just place it in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Once chilled, add the cucumber onion mixture to a blender or food processor along with 2 of the remaining unpeeled cucumbers, half-and-half (or milk) and dill. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust salt as desired. If you feel the mixture is too thin, add another seeded cucumber and puree again.
Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Do not blend or puree again as this may cause the cream/milk to curdle. Taste again and adjust salt as desired. Serve immediately.
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