This hydrating cucumber gazpacho is a real life saver on a hot day! The base is a blend of fresh cucumber and Greek yoghurt with a splash of olive oil and lime juice. But it’s the supporting ingredients that play the major role here. This bowl is loaded with cooling herbs and spices: they elevate the flavours beautifully and calm your body and mind alike. Enjoy with a mix of topping for a light, fun, refreshing meal!
The Flavour Affair:
Cucumber + Greek Yoghurt + Olive Oil + Lime + Cilantro + Dill + Mint + Coriander + Green Cardamom + Caraway Seeds
This recipe focuses on ingredients that naturally help the body temperature to go down. That’s why we are passing on onions, garlic, chilies, basil and parsley – although frequently added to gazpachos, these are in fact all heating foods.
Cucumber: with its clean, cooling aroma and high water content, cucumber brings an instant relief to an overheated body. Its subtle taste is a perfect backdrop for bolder flavours of spices and herbs.
Greek Yoghurt: creamy and mellow, it’s perfect for adding a bit more volume to the soup.
Olive Oil: makes the texture smoother. You can use either a more neutral oil or extra virgin if you want the flavour to be more pronounced.
Lime: sour and tangy, it creates a nice contrast without being too “loud”.
Herbs: cilantro, dill and mint are all cooling herbs, and they fit very well in both cucumber and yoghurt combos.
Spices: I am using a mix of coriander, green cardamom and caraway seeds. Likewise with herbs, they are cooling in nature, meaning they help bring the body temperature down. In addition, they beautifully enhance the overall flavour of this dish, each in their own way. Coriander is floral and bitter-sweet. Green cardamom is highly fragrant, with a lingering, somewhat minty freshness. Caraway also has menthol-like notes, with a hint of licorice and slightly spicy undertones.
If you don’t own a spice grinder, you can swap coriander seeds and green cardamom for their powdered form. Caraway seeds are rarely sold as a powder, so either skip them or swap for ground fennel. You can also dry roast caraway seeds and add them into the blender.
Toppings: I always like to finish with a bunch of toppings – it’s an easy way to add textures and any missing flavours. Here, we have:
- micro greens – they look so pretty and add subtle bitterness;
- roasted almonds – for a nutty crunch;
- feta crumbles – for a salty, creamy finish;
- a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil – for a floral, subtly grassy trail.
With some fresh bread on the side, it makes a delicious, light meal.
Preparation Tips for Cucumber Gazpacho with Cooling Herbs and Spices:
This is a very simple, straightforward dish that requires minimal hands on time. Just remember to count in a couple of hours of refrigerating! Basically, all you need is to blitz everything together until super smooth and place into the fridge. A couple of notes:
- Peel half of the cucumbers and leave the rest with skin on – this will give more colour to your gazpacho.
- You can either use just the Greek yoghurt, or half Greek yoghurt and half sour cream.
- For the cooling spice mix, use ground spices or grind whole spices fresh. If grinding fresh, you’ll need to extract seeds from green cardamom pods by lightly crushing them to open.
- You can use some white pepper if you want to bring in a little pungency.
Serving Suggestions:
Enjoy this cucumber gazpacho as a light meal. Garnish the bowl with some crunchy roasted nuts or seeds, edible flowers or micro greens, and feta if you like it. Pop in a few thin slices of fresh cucumber for more crunch. Don’t forget some fresh bread on the side!
Alternatively, serve in small shot glasses as a cooling appetizer for your next brunch or dinner party. Amidst that summer heat, your guests will definitely appreciate it!
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Cucumber Gazpacho with Cooling Herbs and Spices
Equipment
- 1 blender
- 1 pot or bowl
Ingredients
For cucumber gazpacho:
- 450 g cucumbers
- 200 g Greek yoghurt see notes
- 1/2 tsp rock salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 6-8 coriander stalks with leaves
- 6-8 dill stalks with leaves
- 5-6 mint leaves
For cooling spice mix:
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 4 green cardamom pods
For garnish:
- 1 tbsp roasted almonds
- 1 tbsp crumbled feta
- 2 tbsp micro greens
- A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Crack green cardamom pods open and extract the seeds.
- Grind the whole spices and cardamom seeds to a fine powder.
- Peel about half of the cucumbers and leave the skin on the others to improve the colour of the soup.
- In a blender, combine all gazpacho ingredients together with 1 heaped tea spoon of the spice mix.
- Blitz everything together until smooth.
- Taste and adjust for salt and spices (if you are planning to use feta for garnish, go easier on salt).
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Serve cold with your choice of toppings and fresh bread on the side.
Notes
- If you don’t own a spice grinder, you can use powdered spice. Caraway seeds are rarely sold in powdered form, so either skip them altogether or swap for ground fennel. Use 1/2 tsp each of ground coriander, cardamom and fennel. Alternatively, dry toast some caraway seeds and add directly to the blender.
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