Cucumber Soup with Fresh Dill
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Amanda Love's Cooking Delicious, Healthy Seasonal Recipes |
Cream of Chilled Heirloom Cucumber Soup with Fresh Dill
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 -15minutes
This cool summertime soup is simple and delicious and really hits the spot when the weather is hot. If you have a garden going, you are probably harvesting more cucumbers than you know what to do with. Simply puree them with the other ingredients in this soup and in no time you will have a creamy savory treat.
The humble and prolific cucumber has some very worthy benefits - the main one being to cool us off! Along with being cooling and hydrating, cucumbers are also rich in alkalizing minerals which help to neutralize over acidity in the blood. They are rich in the minerals potassium and silicon which help to regulate blood pressure and calcium absorption. Cucumbers are also natural diuretics and facilitate excretion of wastes through the kidneys including excess uric acid accumulations.
The heirloom varieties are best. I especially like English cucumbers because their skins are soft. Regular cukes have tough skins which can be eaten, but take longer to chew. I usually peel them. Fiber is only good if you can digest it. Tough cucumber fiber is hard to digest. Definitely peel the skins if they have been waxed. The yogurt in this soup will give your beneficial gut bacteria a boost as well. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 medium size heirloom or organic cucumbers – seeded and sliced into big chunks
1 medium avocado
1/8 cup fresh minced dill
2-4 scallions
½ cup plain, organic, whole yogurt (homemade or Straus brand is excellent)
1cup water
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
2 T fresh lemon juice
Instructions:
Set aside small amount of cucumber, avocado and dill for garnish.
Place remaining ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Thin with more water if you desire a thinner consistency. Chill for 15 minutes. Pour into bowls and garnish with small slices of cucumber, avocado, minded dill and fresh cracked pepper.
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