Chilled soups are wonderful in summer, I love serving them at a supper party or just for indulging myself at lunch time whilst sitting amongst the flowers. This chilled prawn and cucumber soup is just perfect for a bit of summer time chillin’.
That sounds really pretentious doesn’t it, sitting amongst the flowers. Actually my patio (and I use that term loosly as it is just an expance of higglety-pigglety paving stones and pebbles) is over-run with huge daisies that moved in years ago and seem to breed every year. It is gorgeous and amazing and nothing whatsoever to do with any sort of gardening ability on my part.
Anyway it makes sitting in the garden in summer time such a treat. Sipping at this chilled prawn and cucumber soup at lunch time or better still with friends of an evening is just heaven.
I came up with this recipe for my book on party food A Wee Taste Of Scotland. I had to come up with lots of soup sips (tiny shots of soup that people could easily sip whilst standing around chatting) for the book and this chilled prawn and cucumber soup sip was a real hit and looked really pretty served in miniature cocktail glasses with a prawn hanging jauntily off the side of the glass.
What’s in it?
Prawns, cucumber, an onion, garlic, milk, cream, seasoning and fresh mint, dill and chives.
The Secret
Yes there is a secret here, actually it’s obvious really, it is time. Let the soup sit in the fridge covered in clingfilm for at least two hours to let those flavours really mix together and develop. That’s where people can come unstuck with chilled soup, just thinking you make the soup then either chuck it in the freezer for a few minutes of have it in the fridge for barely half an hour. Give it time and your chilled prawn and cucumber soup will reward you with wonderful flavour.
K x
CHILLED PRAWN AND CUCUMBER SOUP
Ingredients
- 25 g/1oz butter
- 1 small onion chopped finely
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 small cucumber peeled seeded and diced finely
- 300 ml/1/2 pint milk
- 1 tbsp mixed chopped mint dill and chives
- 50 g/2oz cooked peeled prawns chopped
- 300 ml/1/2 pint double thick cream
- salt and pepper
- 6 cooked prawns peeled but with tails left on and ribbons of cucumber to decorate each glass
Instructions
- Melt butter and gently saute the onion and garlic till soft but not coloured
- Add chopped cucumber and cook till tender
- Stir in milk and almost bring to boil then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes
- Blitz till smooth and cool completely
- Stir in the cooked peeled and chopped prawns, herbs and double cream
- Cover with clingflim and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to allow flavours to develop
- Serve in 6 small glasses
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