Description
Source: Fine Cooking
Note: If you like cool summer soups, another favorite of mine is this watermelon gazpacho
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. plus a handful for garnish seedless white (green) grapes, rinsed
- 2 slices white sandwich bread
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1 seedless cucumber*
- 2 scallions (white and light green parts)
- 1 clove garlic**
- 3 Tbs. fresh dill (or more)
- 2 Tbs. cream cheese (I used mascarpone because I had it on hand.)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 to 2 Tbs. white-wine vinegar (I used 3 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar.)
- 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
*The half English cucumber that I used measured about 6-inches in length.
**Some people find even just one clove of garlic to be too biting. So, you might want to start with 1/2 a clove or omit it altogether if you are garlic averse. Update: July 19th: Made a batch this morning without the garlic — I don’t think anything was really lost without it, and Ben actually preferred it without the garlic. I don’t mind the bite of the raw garlic, but if I were serving this to company, I would probably omit it to be safe. I’m also dying to try adding a minced hot chili to this soup…will report back.
Instructions
- Place grapes in a bowl and put it in the freezer. Tear the bread into chunks and chop it in a food processor until it’s reduced to fine crumbs. Put the crumbs in a small bowl, stir in 1/3 cup cool water, and set aside. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.
- Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients: Cut off and discard the cucumber ends. Thickly slice the cucumber. Roughly chop the scallions, garlic and dill.
- In a food processor, chop the garlic and 1/4 cup of the almonds until very fine. Add the breadcrumbs and cream cheese and process until well blended. Add the cucumber, scallions, dill, milk, vinegar, and the grapes from the freezer. Process until puréed as finely as possible, 1 to 2 minutes. With the machine running, pour in the oil. Taste and season with salt and pepper. I ended up adding a teaspoon of kosher salt and an extra tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar. Chill until ready to serve.
- Garnish with a few halved grapes and the remaining toasted almonds.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes