Too hot to cook? Give this delicious chilled soup a try! Cooling cucumber, vibrant yellow and jalapeño peppers, chopped fresh dill and creamy avocado form the base of this easy vegetarian soup.
The preparation itself couldn't be simpler...a brief stint in the blender followed by a few hours in the fridge. Done. When you are ready to serve, a few simple garnishes really elevate this soup from good to great: Chopped farm stand tomatoes, sautèed bread cubes and a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil. Perfect for those sultry summer days!
The Story Behind This Recipe
I studied in southern Spain during college, and on those unbearably hot days in August and early September my house mother would prepare a big bowl of gazpacho to keep in the fridge. Every meal began with a small bowl of this cooling, delicious elixir. I wanted to come up with something with the same sense of refreshing ease and seasonality, but with ingredients common to the Nordic region.
The Ingredients
For the Soup:
For the Garnishes:
- Cucumbers, yellow and jalapeño peppers, fresh dill, garlic and an avocado form the creamy vegetable base of this fresh summertime soup. Regular garden cucumbers or English (sometimes called seedless) cucumbers will work just fine in this recipe.
- Skyr (Icelandic yogurt) provides a bit of tangy creaminess (feel free to substitute Greek yogurt if you like).
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice brings just the right amount of acidity and brightness to the final product.
- This soup would not be complete with the toppings: Homemade rustic croutons for crunch, chopped fresh tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil for added freshness, texture and flavor.
How to Make This Recipe
- Begin by roughly chopping your vegetables and the dill.
- Place half of the chopped cucumbers in a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix. Blend until smooth.
- Add the remainder of the cucumbers, the peppers, dill and garlic to the blender container along with the pureed cucumbers. Blend again until smooth.
- Halve the avocado, remove the pit and scoop the flesh into the blender. Add the skyr and blend again until smooth.
- Finally, add 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt and blend one last time. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and adjust the seasoning as necessary (you might want to add a little more lemon juice or salt). Cover the soup and transfer it to the refrigerator to chill completely, at least a few hours or up to two days.
- When you are ready to serve, make the croutons: Cut the bread into ½ inch cubes and heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and sauté until crisp and lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and season with coarse salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Ladle the chilled soup into individual bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh tomato and croutons. Serve immediately.
Expert Tips
- It really helps to have a high-powered blender. They can be quite expensive, but are one of the best kitchen investments you can make, in my opinion. If your blender is just so-so and the soup is not as smooth as you would like, you can always run it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any remaining bits of unprocessed vegetable.
- After the soup chills in the refrigerator, give it a good stir before serving. The soup will separate slightly during the cooling process.
FAQs
Store the soup, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and be sure to give it a good stir prior to serving as it will have separated slightly while it was chilling.
This soup will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. I don't recommend freezing this soup.
Yes! Greek yogurt works just fine in this recipe in place of the skyr.
Absolutely! Simply substitute a plant-based yogurt for the skyr.
Related Recipes
Looking for more delicious ways to beat the heat with Nordic style? I've got several deliciously cooling recipes here on the blog:
I hope you enjoy this Chilled Cucumber Soup with Avocado and Dill as much as I do! It is just the thing for steamy summer days.
Chilled Cucumber Soup with Avocado and Dill
Equipment
- High-powered blender (see note below)
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 1 ½ pounds cucumbers coarsely chopped
- 1 yellow pepper seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic peeled
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
- 1 large avocado peel and pit removed and coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup skyr or greek yogurt preferably full-fat
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice more to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt more to taste
For the Croutons:
- 2 cups of ½ inch bread cubes I like sourdough or a rustic country loaf
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For Serving:
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Chopped fresh tomato
- Croutons
Instructions
- Make the Soup: Place half of the chopped cucumber in the blender. Blend until it is completely liquid. Add the remaining cucumber, peppers, garlic and dill and puree until completely smooth. Add avocado and skyr and blend again. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Blend one last time. Transfer to a bowl and adjust seasonings as necessary (you may want a little more lemon juice and/or salt). Cover and chill at least 2-3 hours or until ready to serve.
- Make the Croutons: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bread cubes. Sauté until crisp and lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and season with coarse salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Ladle the chilled soup into individual bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh tomato and croutons. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
If you loved this recipe, give it a star review! Also, snap a picture of your Chilled Cucumber Soup with Avocado and Dill and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #truenorthkitchen and tagging me @true_north_kitchen.
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