Fine English Cookery/Michael Smith 1998

English Cucumber SOup (Hot or Chilled)
Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Calories % from Fat Fat Sodium Carbohydrates Protein Cholesterol
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INGREDIENTS:
2 large cucumbers 125 g/4 oz chopped onion 60g/2 oz butter
30 g/1 oz plain flour 1 tsp castor sugar 1 litre/2 pints chicken stock
juice and zest of half a lemon 400 ml/3/4 pint single cream 1 dessertspoon chopped mint (peppermint for preference)
salt and freshly ground white pepper



1 Peel and de-seed the cucumber and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Grate just the yellow part (zest) of the half lemon and squeeze the juice into a cup.
2 Melt the butter slowly in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onion and soften it without colouring. Ad the cucumber pieces, cover the pan with a lid and sweat the two vegetables together until the cucumber is tender but not over-cooked.
3 Sprinkle the flour over the contents of the pan and stir in well; allow the steam to escape before doing this to avoid lumping. Add the stock and cook slowly for 15 minutes.
4 Pass through a blender or Mouli until a creamy consistency is obtained. Add the lemon juice and rind and season lightly with the salt, pepper and sugar. Add the cream and bring the soup to boiling point, but do not let it boil as this will discolour it and a scum will form.
5 Add the freshly chopped mint just before serving.
6 If the soup looks rather beige due to possible over-cooking, add a little parsley juice made by chopping the parsley when wet and then squeezing the liquid out through the corner of a clean tea-towel.

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