I love cucumbers, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out what to do with them. When I get them from the farmer’s market, a lot of the time I just slice and eat them with a little salad dressing or tomato sauce (sounds gross, but it’s really good). But I wanted to do something a little special for this recipe.
And what’s better, in the summer, than a chilled soup? It’s easy to prepare ahead of time, and it’s colorful, fresh and delicious. I thought about naming this “diet soup” because it’s so low-calorie, but it’s only diet-type food by accident. It’s really so flavorful on it’s own that extra fat wasn’t necessary.
You could make this soup a little heartier by scooping out the seeds in the cucumbers, but I like it a little bit thin. I think this would make a great recipe for a light lunch or quick snack, since it’s really too easy to make — if I had a “5 minutes or less” category on this website, this recipe would be filed there.
So if you have a few leftover mid-summer cucumbers in your fridge and you’re wondering what to do with them, this is a fun, easy, and extremely healthy option.
Last, but not least, the winners of the Hola Fruta! giveaway are…
- Annalise, Comment 32
- Elizabeth, Comment 55
I’ll be emailing later today to get your addresses!
Cucumber Gazpacho
INGREDIENTS:
2 small shallots
1 large clove garlic
2 tsp olive oil
1 large cucumber, cut into 1″ sections
1 large anaheim pepper (I found these at the farmer’s market and love them!)
2 tsp good balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sea salt, or more to your preference
DIRECTIONS:
Saute the shallot and garlic over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until shallots have broken down and turned translucent. Meanwhile, cut the anaheim pepper into slices and remove all its seeds.
In a large food processor, puree the shallots, garlic, cucumber, pepper, vinegar, and salt together for about 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Pulse again, and serve.
Serves 2-3 as a side dish or first course.
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Asparagus with Roasted Garlic Aioli
Carrot Leek Soup
Sunchoke Panzanella
20 responses so far ↓
1 sue bette // Aug 18, 2008 at 8:26 am
My friends just harvested a whole batch of cucumbers from their garden and are dealing with a bit of cucumber overload - I am going to pass this recipe along to them - I think they will love the under 5 minutes aspect!
2 peg // Aug 18, 2008 at 8:54 am
Looks fabulous, can’t wait to try it!
3 patsyk // Aug 18, 2008 at 9:51 am
What a great way to use cucumbers. Looks so cool and refreshing.
4 VeggieGirl // Aug 18, 2008 at 10:25 am
I too never really know what to do cucumbers in meals, to make them interesting, haha - but you certainly accomplished that with your refreshing gazpacho recipe! Yum!
5 adele // Aug 18, 2008 at 10:50 am
Interesting. Looks like it might be a nice accompaniment for grilled fish.
6 Joanna // Aug 18, 2008 at 10:54 am
Oh yum, cucumbers are so refreshing, they must be great in this soup! I bought an extra cucumber at the greenmarket because they were 2/$1, and I just might try this, though probably with some yogurt added for creaminess. What are Anaheim peppers like? Sweet and mild, or hot?
7 Jen (Modern Beet) // Aug 18, 2008 at 11:55 am
cucumbers are one of my favorite vegetables, but I too usually just slice them with a little salt. The gazpacho idea sound great though! i have two varieties growing in the garden, and will hopefully be ready soon! I wonder how this would work as a ‘dressing’ for some sort of panzanella?
8 Maggie // Aug 18, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I have to give this a try. All of the cold cucumber soups I’ve seen have dairy in them. Is the pepper fresh or dried?
9 katy // Aug 18, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Joanna and Maggie — Gah! Did I forget to write about these when I was writing up this post? Anaheim peppers are very mild, but they have a stronger flavor than regular green peppers (although that would be the substitute, if you need one). I found mine at the farmer’s market, but I’m pretty sure you can find them at grocery stores too — they’re large and long (why, oh why, didn’t I photograph mine?), and they’re fresh, not dried!
10 Elizabeth // Aug 18, 2008 at 5:14 pm
First off, this looks delicious. Secondly, I realized my email address was wrong in the last post. I missed an ‘a’ in the email address, so the domain is sbcglobal rather than sbcglobl, like I so stupidly wrote.
11 maybelles mom (feeding maybelle) // Aug 18, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Sounds very nice. With a little bit of vermouth, it could also double as a cocktail.
12 Beatrice // Aug 18, 2008 at 11:07 pm
What a great idea! It looks cool and spicy at the same time…
13 Donald // Aug 19, 2008 at 3:41 am
Now that’s a cool idea. I have never been much for cold soup - I mean I can’t do tomato juice, but this looks really refreshing!
14 Elle // Aug 20, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I love gazpacho, but never made a cucumber one. Great idea–it’s beautiful!
15 mimi // Aug 21, 2008 at 12:54 pm
i’m intrigued by this! the color looks awesome. curious about ideas for a dollop topping.
16 sugarlaw // Aug 21, 2008 at 2:33 pm
mimi — I think yogurt or sour cream would make a great dollop on top! Both of those are sitting in my fridge and I didn’t even think of them, grrr! Also, a little drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil would be great as an easy garnish!
17 Jaime // Aug 24, 2008 at 3:00 pm
perfect for summer! i love gazpacho
18 katherine // Sep 1, 2008 at 10:54 pm
I have a green gazpacho recipe that uses cucumbers, grapes and some other stuff (raw garlic and onion, oil, bread). Nice that you can do it without the oil and bread. I think I would still maybe try keeping the garlic and/or onions raw because it provides more bite. But I haven’t tried your version, which I would like to do. It seems so healthy and tasty!
19 TheFishmonger // Sep 3, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Just made some as a side for some black bean/spinach/goat cheese/tomato wraps we were having for dinner. Delicious! Just wish I’d read comments before dinner. A dollop of yogurt would’ve been the perfect touch. Oh well, next time!
20 Charmaine // Sep 24, 2008 at 6:33 pm
This is the recipe I was looking for all summer! (well, I didn’t know it was this recipe until I found it just now) My 12 yr old vegetarian loves cucumbers but hates tomatoes so I have been looking for months for a good cucumber gazpacho recipe without tomatoes. Thank you so much!!!
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