Cold cucumber soup with mint and yogurt

Cold cucumber soup saves any day when it’s too hot to cook and you still want to eat something decent. Last weekend it was almost 40 degrees here on the Lower Rhine, the kitchen stood still and nobody felt like standing at the stove. I then peeled two cucumbers, threw everything into the Thermomix and just said: “We’ll be spooning them in ten minutes.” It was true. That’s exactly why I love this soup. It is the uncomplicated little sister of our cold cucumber soup with honeydew melon, only hearty instead of fruity. If you usually prefer gazpacho, you’ll like the creamy cucumber version. And if you currently have boxes of cucumbers in the garden, you’ll find another idea to combat the glut in the classic cucumber salad.

Cucumbers – The basic framework. Peel them and scrape out the core with a teaspoon beforehand, otherwise the soup will water out later.

Greek yogurt – This is where the creaminess lies. Use Greek or Turkish yogurt with at least 10 percent fat, then the consistency will last overnight and won’t become too thin.

Sour cream – Brings a subtle acidity and makes the whole thing more velvety than yoghurt alone can achieve. This is where our soup stands out from the usual buttermilk versions.

Fresh mint – Provides the cool, clear kick of freshness that makes the soup so pleasant on a hot day.

dill – The classic for cucumbers, it’s not called cucumber herb for nothing. Together with the mint, this creates two levels of freshness instead of just one.

Garlic – One toe is enough. If you like the taste, you already know the principle from our tzatziki.

lemon – A splash of juice lifts all the flavors and takes the heaviness away from the cream.

The most important lever for a creamy instead of watery soup: deseed the cucumber and have enough fat in the base. The core consists almost entirely of water, and that’s exactly what would otherwise dilute the entire bowl. So cut it in half lengthways, scrape it out with a spoon, and you’re done.

The second point that often goes wrong: giving up too early when mixing. Let the blender run until nothing breaks apart, otherwise the soup will remain grainy. Then put it in the fridge for at least an hour. Cold soups need this resting time for the garlic, mint and dill to combine.

And then the classic mistake: seasoning too little. Cold dampens the taste, a soup that tastes perfect warm suddenly seems bland when ice cold. So try them again after they have cooled and add more salt.

The combination of creamy, fatty yogurt and sour cream instead of buttermilk, plus mint and dill. I also swear by a few finely diced pieces of cucumber on top so that something crunches when spooned.

When the thermometer climbs, this soup is our quickest route to something cool, filling and healthy. Ten minutes of work, an hour of patience, that’s all you need. It ends up on our table all summer long, and you regularly show us your versions with feta or pine nuts on Instagram at @gernekochen. By the way, our lemon-mint lemonade goes well with it, then the summer menu is complete. Try them out and let us know which topping won for you.