Cold Cucumber Soup Recipe by Barefoot Contessa

cold cucumber soup garnished with shrimp

Cold Cucumber Soup Recipe by Barefoot Contessa

This chilled cucumber soup is made by mixing Greek yogurt with avocado, cucumber, dill, and lemon juice and then topping it off with roasted shrimp. It is an easy to make appetizer that you can serve during the warmer months.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Resting time 1

Total Time 1 30

Servings servings

Calories 271kcal

Author Aysegul Sanford

Ingredients

For the Cold Cucumber Soup:

2 cups whole milk Greek yogurt
1 ripe avocado halved and cut into cubes
1/2 cup half and half
1 English cucumber unpeeled (or half-peeled), cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup red onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
4 scallions both white and green parts, chopped
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice approximately from 2 lemons
2 teaspoons kosher salt*
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For The Shrimp Topping:

1/2 pound large shrimp 16/21, deveined and peeled – pat dry with paper towels
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

As Garnish:

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill for garnish
Pinch of crushed red pepper optional
Coarse salt to finish it off

Instructions

Puree: Place yogurt, avocado, half and half, cucumber, red onion, garlic, scallions, lemon juice, salt and black pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until cucumbers are coarsely pureed. Taste for seasoning and add more, if necessary.
Chill: Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to marinate for at least one hour* in the fridge.
Cook shrimp: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place shrimp onto a baking sheet in one even layer. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 5-7 minutes, making sure to turn once during cooking.
Serve: When ready to serve, ladle the chilled soup into bowls. Top off with a few pieces of shrimp, fresh dill, lemon slices, and crushed red pepper, if using. Finish it off with a pinch of coarse sea salt & serve!

Notes

This recipe serves 6 appetizer portions and 4 main dish portions.
Taste before serving: The salt amount used might look like a lot but it is not a typo. This cucumber soup needs a lot of seasoning. If you want to use less, you can start with 1 teaspoon and decide whether you want to add more after giving it a taste.
Make it ahead: You can make the soup portion of this recipe a day ahead. However, I would recommend roasting the shrimp right before serving. And be sure to whisk to soup well before garnishing and serving.
Puree until your desired consistency is reached. If you prefer a smoother texture, puree longer and vice versa.
Not a fan of dill? You can use other fresh herbs like fresh Italian parsley or mint. Or, for a milder dill flavor, feel free to use dried dill.

Nutrition