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.