Recipe Background
Summer Soup blends cucumbers, melon, and herbs for a refreshing, chill dish.
Moving into my first real studio apartment was more of an emotional whirlwind than I had anticipated. It lacked air conditioning and the city was in full swing with summer heat. My best friend came over to help me unpack, and by the time noon rolled around we were desperate for some relief from the stifling air. I remembered a recipe my grandmother used to make— one that combined cool cucumbers and a sweet honeydew melon. It felt like the perfect antidote.
With little more than a wooden spoon and a single mixing bowl to my name, we started chopping cucumbers and green onions. The hint of heat came from a serrano chile, and the freshness was dialed up with mint and cilantro I had growing on my windowsill. I relished the tangy kick of rice wine vinegar. The trick is to let the soup chill in a pot of ice water before serving, giving it a crisp freshness that's truly refreshing.
We finished the soup with a dollop of yogurt blended with lemon juice and olive oil. If you find yourself with a bit of time, let the yogurt sit in the fridge to meld its flavors. The coolness of the cucumbers combined with that honey-sweet melon and zesty herbs had us almost forgetting about the intense summer heat outside. That simple soup turned an otherwise ordinary moving day into a shared memory, packed with the flavor and camaraderie that I’ll never forget. Sharing that bowl with a dear friend was as refreshing as the dish itself.
Ingredients
- 4 hot house cucumbers peeled and cut into a medium dice
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/2 honeydew melon peeled and cut into a medium dice
- 1 serrano chile finely chopped
- 1 rib celery finely chopped
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- leaves from 2 sprigs fresh mint chopped
- leaves from 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro chopped
- extra-virgin olive oil to taste
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons low-fat yogurt
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, the green onions, the melon, the serrano chile, the celery, the vinegar, the mint, the cilantro, the olive oil, and the salt.
- Put the bowl in a large pot of ice water to chill for 30 minutes.
- In another bowl, combine the yogurt, the olive oil, the lemon juice, and the parsley.
- Refrigerate the yogurt mixture until ready to serve.
- Spoon the soup into bowls and top with the yogurt mixture or mix the yogurt into the soup.
- Serve.
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