Cold Cucumber Soup with Fresh Herbs

By Nick Schneider

Chiffonade is a way of slicing herbs and leaf vegetables into long strips, typically for garnish like in this recipe. Click here for a video explaining this easy, yet elegant technique.

Ingredients

3 cucumbers* seed, peeled and cut into 1/2 in thick slices (about 2.5 lbs)
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2.5 cups low fat yogurt
1 Tablespoon ginger, minced
1.5 Tablespoons honey* or 2 Tablespoons sugar
pinch cayenne
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

Toppings

2 radishes*, julienne
3/4 cup Thai basil*, chiffonade
3/4 cup mint*, chiffonade
3 Tablespoons cilantro*, chiffonade

*Sourced at Mill City Farmers Market

Instructions

Dry roast the cumin, cool and grind in a spice grinder.

Blend 1/2 the cucumbers, 1 cup of the yogurt, ginger, honey or sugar and good pinch of salt in a blender until smooth. Pour out 3/4 of the soup mixture into a bowl. Add just remaining cucumbers and puree until smooth.

Combine all the pureed cucumber and whisk in by hand the last 1.5 cup of yogurt. Add finer ground cumin, lemon juice and any more salt to taste or cayenne.

Chill soup and prepare garnishes. To serve top each serving with pinch of herbs, radishes and dash of cracked and toasted cumin seeds. Serves 6.