One summer in Rome, the temperature hovered in the high 90s for days. We didn’t have our usual appetite for classic Roman dishes, but we lapped up every bit of this cold refreshing cucumber soup topped with a colorful spoonful of tomato and basil salsa.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
- 1¼ pounds cucumbers (3–4 large or 8–10 Kirbys)
- 2 scallions
- ¾ cup water
- About 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 tablespoon shredded fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Peel the cucumbers and cut lengthwise in half. Scoop out and discard the seeds using a small spoon.
- Finely chop enough cucumbers to make ½ cup. Cover and refrigerate for the salsa.
- Cut the remaining cucumbers into 1-inch chunks. Chop 1 of the scallions.
- In a blender or food processor, combine the cucumber chunks, chopped scallion, and water. Puree until smooth.
- Season the cucumber puree with white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour the soup into a covered container and refrigerate for about 2 hours, until cold.
- Just before serving, cut the tomato in half and remove the core. Squeeze the halves to extract some of the seeds and juice, then discard them. Cut the tomato into ½-inch dice and place in a small bowl.
- Finely chop the remaining scallion and add it to the bowl with the reserved chopped cucumber and shredded basil.
- Toss the tomato, scallion, cucumber, basil mixture with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Taste the chilled soup for seasoning and adjust if needed.
- Spoon the cold cucumber soup into chilled bowls. Top each bowl with some of the tomato and basil salsa.
- Serve and enjoy!
