Running Hot & Cold

Now that the hot weather has finally arrived, there's nothing quite like a cold soup to ward off the heat.  The beauty of cold soups is they can be made up to a day or two in advance and left to sit in your fridge so you can enjoy them at any time and the flavour benefits from having the time to mingle.

(photo courtesy of www.finecooking.com)

Chilled Cucumber-Buttermilk Soup

Fine Cooking magazine, issue 117, pp. 65

1-1/2 ­lb. cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
2 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 small shallot, coarsely chopped
1/4­ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more to garnish
Kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 ­cup buttermilk
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped chives, to garnish

In a blender, purée the cucumber, celery, shallots, olive oil, and 1 tsp. kosher salt until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Whisk in the sour cream and buttermilk and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour. Serve drizzled with olive oil and garnished with chives.