Chilled Cucumber Soup

1. 1

   Place sliced cucumber in a large bowl. Toss with sea salt, rice wine vinegar and honey; allow to marinate for at least one hour, or up to three. The salt should draw out a lot of the cucumbers' liquid, which will aid with pureeing (alternatively, you could have a shorter marinating time and use more water for blending, but I expect this will dilute the flavor).

2. 2

   If you have a porcelain ginger grater, great - if not, a Microplane works just fine. Hold grater over a small square of double-layered cheesecloth. Grate a piece of ginger (there is no need to peel!) onto cheesecloth until you have about 1 heaping tablespoon. Over a small bowl, pull the four corners of the cheesecloth around the grated ginger and twist to release the juice.

3. 3

   Peel and pit the avocado and add to a blender along with the cucumber mixture (and all of the liquid that's been released), the chopped chives, and the ginger juice (start with a teaspoon and then add more later to suit your taste). Add a generous pinch of sea salt. Puree until very smooth, about 2 minutes, adding filtered water to facilitate blending until desired consistency is achieved (not as thick as baby food, but more viscous than juice). Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

4. 4

   Optional - I like to pass every soup I make through a chinois (a conically-shaped fine-meshed strainer). Straining soups makes them silky-smooth and helps remove air bubbles caused by blending. However, it is absolutely not necessary to do so.

5. 5

   Chill until ready to serve. Divide soup amongst chilled bowls, garnish with three pieces of diced avocado and a sprinkling of finely chopped chives.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.

No additional tips available.