As the umpteenth another heat wave hits the East coast (I swear I’m spending more time inside than out this summer), it’s the Recipe ReDux to the rescue! This month’s theme is “No Cook Meals” featuring fresh fruits, veggies, herbs or just about anything that’s blossoming away this time of year on this end of the globe (our Aussie ReDux-ers are always game when we throw them these Northern Hemisphere seasonal themes – like when Emma @ The Scoop on Nutrition had to improvise indoors for our grilling theme last June – quite successfully, I might add.)
But back to no-cook meals. I immediately thought of one of my favs, panzanella, but Serena already has an amazing Roasted Broccoli Panzanella Salad post. So, I then decided on a soup featuring cucumbers, avocado, scallions and mint. I did a recipe trial run BEFORE the Wall Street Journal “Off Duty” section did a big spread on all things cucumbers, including, of course, a similar cucumber avocado soup.
So, I went back, tweaked it a bit and figured my version need a little something extra. EA @ The Spicy RD can attest to my smoked paprika obsession which I decided to pair with chickpeas that I always have in the pantry (dietitian’s confession – I use canned beans instead of dried – but my excuse is this is a no-cook recipe!)
Description
Cool, creamy cucumber avocado soup topped with spicy chickpeas is the perfect no-cook meal for summer heat.
For the soup:
- 2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 avocado, pitted and scooped out
- 2 scallions, green and white parts chopped
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup mint leaves
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
For the chickpeas:
- 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans or chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Garnish:
- Mint leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Add cucumbers, avocado, scallions, buttermilk, 1/4 cup mint leaves, lime juice, salt and pepper into blender.
- In a small bowl, whip together yogurt and mascarpone cheese. Spoon half of mixture into blender, saving the other half for garnishing finished soup.
- Blend all ingredients until pureed.
- In another bowl, mix together chickpeas, red onion, 2 tablespoons mint and smoked paprika.
- To serve, ladle 1 cup of soup into 4 bowls. Top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of yogurt/mascarpone mix, 6 tablespoons of chickpeas, a mint leaf and a drizzle of olive oil.
Now this soup is pretty versatile, you could omit the avocado (but why would I even suggest that?), use basil instead of mint, chives instead of scallions, more/less buttermilk and/or yogurt, water as the liquid to make it vegan, salsa instead of chickpeas for a topping – really, endless no-cook versions here!
As long as my weekly CSA share keeps giving me cucumbers, I’ll be making this soup. What’s your favorite no-cook meal this time of year?
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