For a few years, I've been enjoying this summery, grated cucumber soup made with buttermilk and sour cream, some flavorings (Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, a little bit of grated onion), and served chilled. I make it the same way every time, because that's how the recipe goes. I might vary the proportions of various ingredients, but it's always peeled, grated cucumbers.Until this summer. I now have an Asian cucumber plant of my own, and it's been producing some beautiful, gnarly, sweet, crisp specimens. Tender skin. No seeds to speak of.
And it's all mine! I grew it; I don't want to waste any of it. (I'm like that.)
So I thought it perfectly reasonable to chop up the cukes and run them in the blender, unpeeled, (and not grated!) for making this soup. Easy-peasy. I anticipated a creamy, smooth, pale green concoction.
Instead I got grit. Green-flecked grit.
It tasted great, but my recipe writer (a favorite) was right: Peeled, grated cukes make a cushiony, velvety soup with interesting mouth-feel. Blendered, unpeeled? Pah.
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7 comments:
Oh, man -- I totally would have done that, too. Oh well, it's always worth a try.
You can always strain it after blending. In fact that's probably easier than peeling, eh?
Very good to know!
An excellent tip - I'll keep that in mind because that soup sounds lovely.
I like Anita's idea of straining it afterwards. It sounds too good to waste!
I do seed cucumbers for recipes that require it, but my father-in-law's cucumbers are so good that I eat the little strips of cut away seeds instead of composting them.
CC,
I make a very similar (peeled) cucumber soup.
Anita: I'm afraid straining would have eliminated far too much of the actual cucumber. Perhaps it could have been blended more ferociously.
Tammy: My comeuppance, and welcome to it, say I.
Mouse: It is so nice. Works with zucchini too.
Zoomie: I picked another gnarly cuke today and even after I rubbed off the spines, I realized there were still hard, stubbly bits on the skin. I think it needs to be peeled.
Lucette: I love that. I'd eat 'em too.
Kevin: And to think I have at least three vegetable peelers. OK, peel it is. Thanks for the endorsement.
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