Chilled Soups Part 1
Channel: Ellen Touart-Grob
Date: 2020-08-10

Join Chef Ellen, Resident Chef at Land's Sake Farm in Weston, MA, in the kitchen and as she makes Cucumber Dill soup and Green Gazpacho. You can find the recipes below.

Filmed by Larry Grob and edited by Erika Grob. Music is "Libertad" by Iriarte and Pesoa from the Free Music Archive, CC BY-NC.

Chilled Cucumber Soup 

What a treat to enjoy a chilled soup when the weather is miserably hot and sticky. Here’s a refreshing and simple to make recipe for cucumber soup. Nothing could be easier! Just make sure you use a really good whole milk Greek yogurt and plenty of lemon juice and salt and pepper. This soup should be well-seasoned. Enjoy!

Yield: 5 cups
2 1/4 pounds cucumbers (peeled, if skin is bitter) halved and seeded—1/2 cup finely diced, the rest coarsely chopped 
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt 
2 - 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice – or more, to taste
1 small shallot, chopped 
1 garlic clove 
1/3 cup loosely packed dill 
1/4 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves 
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling 
Salt 
Fresh ground white pepper 
1/2 red onion, finely chopped 

In a blender, combine the chopped cucumber with the yogurt, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, dill, parsley, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. 
Season the soup again just before serving. Pour the soup into bowls. Garnish with the finely diced cucumber, red onion and a drizzle of olive oil and serve. 

Green Gazpacho

It’s been such a hot summer, so it’s a perfect time for a cold soup. This is a GREEN Gazpacho – it’s taking advantage of the delicious cucumbers that have just become available and all of our beautiful greens. This recipe is a starting point – feel free to improvise with greens and herbs that appeal to you.

4 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
2 leaves of kale, stemmed and torn into small pieces
1 ½ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
½ cup loosely packed basil leaves
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1 cup loosely packed parsley
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or lemon juice
1 cup water
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon chipotle pepper (optional)

Place all ingredients into the jar of a strong blender. Pulse and blend until smooth. Taste and add additional salt, pepper, vinegar and oil, as necessary. Chill well – at least 4 hours – taste again before serving, as the flavors mellow out when it’s cold.