Рецепт A soup and a side...My Chilled Cucumber Soup and Marinated Summer Vegetables
A
bowl of chilled soup can really start a summer meal off right.
Make enough of it, and anytime you
want, there’s a bowl of cool comfort waiting in the fridge. As to today’s side, it’s a terrific way to
have vegetables on hand and at the ready.
You do a simple roast of the farm stand’s best, then while
warm douse them with a marinade with just enough garlic and fresh oregano to
give them some lift. I wish I could say
the Cucumber soup was farm stand material. The recipe calls for something from
fairly far away. All the way from a greenhouse in California.
Far from the Farm Stand As
far I can see the English Cucumber has about much to do with England as the
English Muffin—both triumphs of American marketing! All cucumbers came to us via India
but cucumbers have been cultivated virtually everywhere on earth for hundreds
of years. The English Cucumber is an
ordinary everyday cousin of the common cuke. That being said, they’re prized
for their thin, edible skin and their relative seedless-ness. And that’s why they’re used here: Half the cucumber is pureed, the other half
goes into the soup in a dice. Greek yogurt adds to the cool. Dill greens it further. And never leave out the croutons. They’re a
whole reason to keep days old bread.
They’re a snap to make.
I
can’t get enough of summer’s best vegetables.
They’re glorious right now. So I
doubled a recipe I’d seen in Bon Appetit. This is the kind of thing that you
- can put into mason jars and store in the fridge for weeks. Pull it out and let the olive oil un-cloud
- and it’s perfect buffet item. You can
- use these marinated vegetables in sandwiches too—think provolone and salami or
- mozzarella and beef. As to required peeling of the peppers, I will only say, it
- was surprisingly simple but oh so worthwhile.
- Here are the recipes:
- Recipe for Chilled Cucumber Soup
- Serves 4 (can easily be doubled)
- Active Time; 15 Minutes Total Time with chilling 1 hr 15 minutes.
- 1 long English Cucumber, peeled and
- diced, in ½ inch pieces
- 2 cups Greek Yogurt Plain
- 1 cup Vegetable Stock or Broth
- 2 scallions, diced, white and green
- parts
- In a large bowl, combine the Greek
yogurt and the Vegetable Broth, stirring with a whisk. Set aside.
In a food processor with the metal
blade attached, puree ½ the peeled, diced cucumber, the scallions, 2 tbsp.
dill, 2 tbsp. parsley.
Add the cucumber mixture to the
large bowl of yogurt and stock and add the juice ½ lemon, 2 tsp. of salt. Whisk to combine.
Refrigerate 1 hour. When served, garnish each bowl with chopped
dill and croutons.
I keep bread in the house even if I
am the only one eating it. It’s just not
home without bread. So I inevitably end
up with ends of loaves that are too far gone for a sandwich but which make the
best breadcrumbs and crostini and as here, croutons. You cube the bread, pre heat the oven, toss
the breadcubes in olive oil and into the oven they go. I can’t give you quantities
here but for enough croutons for this recipes, you’ll want about 7 a bowl, so
count your croutons. The crispy bits float on the soup and give you more crunch
than say, a cucumber.
Days Old Bread – preferably a
European style loaf.
Garlic Cloves, Halved, rubbed over
the bread slices.
Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.
Slice bread at least ½ inch thick
then cube it so all the pieces
are relatively the same size.
With your hands, toss the bread to
coat lightly with olive oil.
Put the croutons in a single layer
on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously
with salt and pepper.
Put the croutons in the oven,
checking every 5 minutes on their progress and turning them at the first 5
minute mark. You want them to be golden brown not burned. Depending on size, they may be done in 10
minutes, or as mine were, at 15.
Recipe for Marinated Summer Vegetables adapted from Bon Appetit
12 Portions. Active Time. 30
minutes. Total Time. 1 ½ hours.
2 Yellow summer
squash and 2 zucchini (about 4 pounds), sliced on a diagonal 1/2" thick
6 red, orange, or
yellow bell peppers, cut into 1" strips
8 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, freshly
ground pepper
4 tablespoons Sherry
or red wine vinegar
Place
racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 475°. Place squash and
peppers on separate baking sheets. Drizzle each sheet of vegetables with 1/2
tablespoons oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
Spread
out in a single layer, turning peppers skin side up.
Roast
peppers on upper rack and squash on lower rack, turning squash once, until
tender, 15-20 minutes. Let cool slightly; remove skins from peppers.
Whisk
garlic, vinegar, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl; season with
salt and pepper. Add vegetables and oregano; toss to coat. Cover and let sit at
least 1 hour.
DO
AHEAD: Vegetables can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill; bring to room
temperature before serving.