Cucumber soup, finally!

There are probably only two dishes that my mom makes and likes, and I would go very far to avoid them. One of them is called "mlečne ugorke", which translates directly into "cucumbers with milk". The dish is considered a specialty in Prekmurje, the small flat part of Slovenia where I come from. Basically, one slices cucumbers thinly, then you mix them with yogurt and spices, maybe a touch of sour cream, and that is it. It is eaten cold and is considered super refreshing in summer months. That is, unless you are like me and cannot stomach it.

Ranting aside, this cucumber dilemma has been nagging me for years, and both my parents and I accepted that there is no point in fighting laws of physics here.

Then I went to NYC for work, Jasna came along, and one day we went for lunch together to a brand new cafe in our NYC office. When a new cafe opens, the staff is super motivated and the food is usually superb. That was definitely the case in NYC, anything we tasted well exceeded expectations.

One of the soup choices was of a surprisingly appealing pale green color. Cucumber soup! Jasna loves cucumbers, so she immediately got a bowl. There was something about the look of the soup that made me try it, too.

Ingredients remove much of guesswork

Wow! The taste had a nice hint of spice, sweetness and sourness were nicely balanced and it was supremely refreshing. The soup made me realize how good cucumbers with milk could have been. Jasna and I decided that we could eat this soup regularly.

The challenge was on: How to replicate the recipe? Our kitchens tend to be very generous when it comes to sharing recipes. There is only one catch - they give you an industrial-size recipe which can be challenging to scale for home use. Thankfully, every dish has a label listing the ingredients so that people can obey their dietary restrictions. I took a picture, and the rest was to be a process of trial and error.

Yesterday, I decided to give the soup a shot. I used three regular cucumbers, peeled, one apple, peeled and cored, a thumb size piece of fresh horseradish, peeled and chunked into smaller pieces, fat-free yogurt, a tablespoon or two of sour cream, a quarter of a large sweet onion, four cloves of garlic, juice of two small lemons, a teaspoon or so of dry dill, and a good pinch of salt.

I put all the ingredients in the blender and blended them at a slow to medium speed. I eyeballed the amount of yogurt needed so that the soup was of a nice thick and a bit chunky consistency. I highly recommend to put the yogurt in first, at the bottom of the blender jar,  to help the blending process.

The soup was even better then next day 

The result was quite stunning. I think it is the horseradish and apple that make a huge difference. The horseradish does add a deeper flavor and just the right hint of heat. If you remember to make and refrigerate the soup a day ahead, you will be rewarded as the flavors will meld nicely. 

Hazelnut gelato

After returning from a trip to Slovenia and Croatia, I have been wondering why it is so difficult to get good hazelnut gelato in North America. Or at least so it seems. And when you do find it, detecting hazelnut flavor requires some imagination. Not so back in Slovenia. There, one can even purchase prepared hazelnut filling for potica, which our friend transformed into a delicious ice cream. After trying that ice cream, the quest was on. Am I able to recreate the same intense hazelnut flavor with ingredients available to me in SF Bay Area?

Proper atmosphere for enjoying the gelato

It turned out I already had a collection of recipes for gelato, so it was the matter of choosing one as a starting point. I decided to go with a recipe from Martha Stewart's haydays, probbaly beause it seemed most hazelnut intense. However, each and every recipe requested that one grinds hazelnuts, brings them to a boil in milk, let them steep for 2 hours, and then to strain out the solids. If all I needed was some hazelnut flavor, I would have simply used hazelnut essence that one can buy at Whole Foods. I decided to put my Vitamix to work, just like when I make hot chocolate. And I could still add some hazelnut essence!

Start by blending 1/2 lb roasted hazelnuts in 3 cups of whole milk. This time I used roasted Oregin hazelnuts from Trader Joe's. It would have been even better if I roasted some fresh hazelnuts myself. Run the blender at the highest speed for a couple of minutes until the hazelnuts are completely emulsified, what you get is hazelnut milk.

Transfer the hazelnut milk into a saucepan, preferably one with rounded bottom edges, but any good pan will do. Bring the mixture to a simmer, occasionally scraping the edges with a heat-proof spatula. Remove the pan from heat.

In a bowl whisk 5 egg yolks with 2/3 cup of sugar. Continue whisking when the sugar has dissolved and the mixture turns pale yellow. I find it that taking a short break here and there lets the sugar dissolve faster, which speeds up the process.

In the next step we need to mix the hot hazelnut milk with the egg mixture and make sure to avoid scrambling the eggs. Start by adding a small amount of the hazelnut mixture to the eggs while stirring the egg mixture - I use my Supoon. This way the mixture will warm up and the temperature shock will be smaller. Add some more hazelnut milk, keep stirring. When you have added about 1/2 of the hazelnut milk to the egg mixture, pour the egg mixture into the remaining hazelnut milk in the pan. Now you have a custard mix that you need to warm up so that it thickens.

Purists and Michelin-star restaurants would, at this point, strain the mixture to remove any scrambled egg bits. I did not want to remove any of the hazelnuts and I did not want to make additional mess, so I skipped the straining part. I always make this choice and it always works out well.

Cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping constantly until the mixture thickens and will coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not let the mixture boil. For this step I believe one needs to be pedantic. I really do stir continuously with my supoon/spatula, and I use my instant thermometer to make sure the temperature does not go over 175F. The truth is that 180F or 185F is still OK, but I like to maintain a comfortable margin for error.

Hazelnut gelato mixture chilling in an ice bath

Transfer the custard back to the bowl and stir in a cup of heavy cream (optional) and a couple of tablespoons of Frangelico (optional), and a few teaspoons of hazelnut essence (optional). Now you have the gelato mixture that is ready to be cooled down.

Place the bowl in an ice bath for an hour or so until it is cold. Walk by every now and then and stir the mixture, but do attempt to restrain from snacking on the mixture, unless your design is to consume the custard. It is ridiculously tasty. This way it will chill faster than in your fridge. If you are not making gelato right away, transfer the bowl in a fridge or even a freezer for up to an hour or so.

Gelato ready for consumption

You can freeze the mixture as is and get a tasty frozen brick. Even a simple ice cream maker to finish the gelato will mix in some air and the mixing will prevent large crystals from forming. The result is a smooth and light texture.

I wonder what would happen if one cooked this custard in the oven and chilled it. Are we marching towards hazelnut creme brule?