Ina Garten – Serves 8

According to Mimi, a childhood friend, Riverside is too hot to turn the oven on in the summer. In my house, there is a municipal ordinance that prohibits even thinking about turning on the oven between Memorial and Labor Day (give or take a month). On a hot summer day, a cold soup is the perfect go-to meal. It is hydrating, refreshing, and made with produce in peak season, it is delicious.

In the summer of 2019, I decided to explore the world of cold soups. There are a lot, and some are better than others. My favorites included chilled cucumber, cantaloupe, peach, and watermelon soups. For his birthday, I gifted my friend Kurt Miller several adorable weck jars filled with the unusual cold soups.

Sadly, I didn’t get the five-star review I anticipated.  It turns out that Kurt doesn’t like cucumbers, and it doesn’t matter if they’re added to a salad, served on crudités, or made into a soup.  He is not going to like it here or there, not in a box, not with a fox. He’s just not going to like them anywhere.

Here is where I stand: I personally like the savory cold soups like gazpacho, and one of my favorites is Chilled Cucumber Soup with Shrimp. You should try it because it is refreshing and different.

Ingredients

• 2      Containers Greek yogurt (17-ounce)
• 1 ½ C   Half-and-half
• 3      English cucumbers (large), peeled, seeded, and chopped
• ½ C  Chopped red onion
• 9      Scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 2 T   Kosher salt
• 1 T   Ground black pepper
• ¼ C   Fresh dill, chopped
• ¾ C  Lemon juice (4 lemons)
• 1 lb Extra-large shrimp (15 per pound). Cook on the stove top or BBQ on skewers
• Thinly sliced of lemon, halved, for garnish
• Fresh dill, for garnish

Directions

• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yogurt, half-and-half, cucumbers, red onions, scallions, salt, and pepper.
• Transfer the mixture in batches to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until the cucumbers are pureed and then pour into another bowl. Continue processing the soup until all of it is pureed. 
• Fold in the dill, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until very cold.
• Using a food mill strain the soup. Personally I add one more step by using a mesh strainer after the food mill to ensure the texture is smooth and silky.
• Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice. Serve chilled, garnished with a little dill, cooked shrimp and lemon.