Easiest Cold Cucumber Soup

Image by Liza Schoenfein

By Liza Schoenfein August 11, 2016

This is an adaptation of my mom’s recipe, which she shared with me long ago, before Greek yogurt was a thing. It’s a perfect dish for the dog days of summer.

Many recipes recommend salting the cucumbers to remove excess liquid. I don’t find this step necessary here, but if you’re a cucumber-prep purist, go ahead and place the chopped cucumbers in a colander, toss with a half teaspoon of salt, let sit/drain for 30 minutes in the sink, then rinse well with cold water before proceeding.

Makes about 4 cups

1 pound cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
3 scallions, white and pale green part, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½-1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
A few dashes pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

Blend, taste, correct seasoning if necessary and serve.

Liza Schoenfein is food editor of the Forward. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her at @lifedeathdinner

Liza Schoenfein is a former food editor of the Forward and author of the blog Life, Death & Dinner. Follow her on Instagram @LifeDeathDinner.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO