Chilled Dilled Cucumber Soup

When I moved to Canada, everyone thought I was nuts for leaving Florida. But the truth is, I hate hot weather. When it’s too hot out, I can barely think. I get all headachy, and sweaty behind the knees. I’d take cold over hot any day. A wise man once said: you can always put more clothes on. Public decency means you can only get away with taking so much off, and even then you might be out of luck.

Fortunately, we’ve been pretty lucky this year–it’s been downright cool, even though that’s sort of bad news for my garden (oh well).  Unlike last year, we didn’t have a couple of weeks of 42C here in Southern Ontario to try to cope with. That’s the good news. The bad news is, we still have had a couple really hot days and then there was like no relief, except for when I hid in my husband’s bat cave for the day. 

Today was one such day of no relief.

Naturally, the last thing I want to think of is turning on the stove, and worse, the idea of eating hot food when it’s hot is kind of gross. Even Gazpacho usually requires boiling tomatoes briefly–if only to peel them. And then it requires chilling time to meld. No time for that. There’s hanging in the hammock to be done. Or laying on the couch in the Bat Cave, if one doesn’t have access to a hammock.

This cool-as-a-cucumber soup throws together in a flash. It’s a great way to use up your garden produce, with the mellow tang of yogurt and a robust bite of garlic. It’s great as an appetizer, while food is cooking on the grill, or for a light meal.

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Chilled Dilled Cucumber Soup

A creamy, chilled soup that's great as a cool appetizer or light meal on a hot day.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 english cucumber or approx. 1 lb, peeled, seeded & sliced
• 1 1/2 cups plain lowfat yogurt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 to 1 full clove garlic peeled
• 1/2 tsp dried dill weed or approx. 4 tsp fresh
• 1 green onion plus more for garnish

Instructions

1. Chill the bowls and cucumbers prior to cooking.
2. In a blender or a food processor, puree the cucumber, garlic, yogurt, salt, green onion and dill together until smooth.
3. Pour into chilled bowls and serve immediately, garnished with more onion and dill.