Cucumber Soup with Wasabi Avocado Cream

Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine

Prep Time: 25 minutes  Yield: 6 servings

3 English cucumbers (3 1/2 pound total), peeled and sliced
1/2 cup cold water
2 to 3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1 ripe California avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 (8-ounce) container plain yogurt
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
            (or 1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
Freshly ground white pepper
1 1/2 cups ice cubes
Garnish: finely chopped fresh chives

Puree cucumbers with water, vinegar, and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in batches in a blender until smooth.

Mash together avocado, lime juice, and remaining teaspoon kosher salt until smooth. Whisk in yogurt, wasabi paste, chives, and pepper, to taste.

Just before serving, blend soup with ice in batches until smooth. Serve topped with avocado cream.

Cooks' note: Soup (before blending with ice) and avocado cream can be made 1 day ahead and kept, separately, chilled and covered.

- Erin Wulff

Recipe courtesy Julia Child
4 medium beets, trimmed
3 to 4 scallions, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 teaspoon grated fresh horseradish
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 cup beet juice
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Garnish:
1 cup sour cream
Handful fresh dill sprigs
Cook beets in large pot of boiling water until very tender and knife pierces through to the center easily, about 50 minutes.
Drain beets; cool slightly.
Peel and coarsely chop.
Transfer beets, scallions, cucumbers, horseradish, and wine vinegar to food processor.
Add some of the liquids to blend. Puree, but not too fine.
Thin to desired consistency with beet juice and broth.
Transfer to bowl, season, and chill several hours.
Check seasoning before serving.
Pour into individual bowls and garnish with spoonful of sour cream and sprinkling of dill.
Can be made up to 3 days in advance, covered, chilled.

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray and Elsa Scuderi
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
1/4 European cucumber, cut into thin sticks resembling shape and size of green beans
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1/2 lemon, juiced
Coarse salt and pepper
Steam green beans in 1/2 inch boiling water covered for 3 or 4 minutes.
Cold shock beans by running under cold water and drain well.
Place beans in a bowl and combine with onions, cucumber and tomato.
Dress salad with a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon.
Season salad with coarse salt and pepper, to taste. 

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 cucumber, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and cut crosswise into

2-inch pieces (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for garnish

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium fresh green chile, seeded, and finely chopped (2

tablespoons)

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup dried red lentils

1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 cup)

1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets

1 3/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1/2 cup water

2 cups cooked jasmine rice

Combine red onion, cucumber, vinegar, and lime juice in a small nonreactive bowl. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to overnight).

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add yellow onion, garlic, and chile, and cook until onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Add spices and salt, and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste. Add lentils, potato, cauliflower, stock,

and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender but not breaking down, 15 to 20 minutes. (Check lentils after 10 minutes, adding water if necessary.)

Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Serve lentil mixture over rice, and top with strained red-onion mixture. Garnish with lime wedges for squeezing.

4 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 4 cups)

1 to 2 cups water

2 cups plain yogurt (or 1 cup plain yogurt combined with 1

cup sour cream)

1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed

Several fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill

1 tablespoon honey

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

2 scallions, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)

Combine the chopped cucumber, 1 cup water, yogurt, garlic, mint, dill, honey, and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor. Purée the ingredients, adding more of the water until the soup is a consistency you like. Season with more salt to taste.

Transfer the soup to a large bowl and chill for several hours.

Garnish each serving with chopped scallions.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber 
1 clove garlic 
1 quart buttermilk 
1 knife tip ground cumin 
1 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped 
Salt and pepper to taste 
Dark bread

Directions:
Peel and seed cucumber. Cut slices in finger-thick chunks.
Put in blender with other ingredients except dark bread. Blend.
Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before serving.
Cut dark bread into cubes. 
Toast to croutons in a thick pan. 
Blend soup again before serving.

Add croutons when serving.

3 slicing cucumbers, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 medium sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced

1/2 cup fresh dill, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar

Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a large bowl, toss together cucumbers, onion, dill, oil, lemon juice, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.

* whole cucumbers, unpeeled
* whole carrots, peeled

Cut cucumber in 3" lengths. Hollow out seeded middle section. Push a carrot into the hollowed out center of the cucumber. Slice the cucumber/carrot wheels into 1/2-inch slices. You end up with a cucumber slice with a carrot center. Try scoring the cucumber skin before using them in this recipe: run a fork lengthwise down the cucumber skin all around the cucumber. Actually, this method makes pretty cucumber slices with or without skin.

2-3 slicing cucumbers
½ red onion (scallions can also be used)
1-1 ½ Tbsp. dill, minced
¼ c. feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste
 
Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Can be topped with yogurt or apple cider vinegar and olive oil.

* 1 cucumber, peeled and cubed
* 1 lemon
* 5 c water
* Sugar to taste

Add cucumber and water to a blender and puree. Strain. Add juice of lemon and sugar to taste. Serve over ice. Or grate the cucumber into the pitcher of lemonade. Stir well. Garnish glasses with a thin cucumber slice or very thin slices of both cucumber and lemon slit and placed on the rim.