Calories 210

The saying “cool as a cucumber” has the ring of truth to it, as this refreshing vegetable has the ability to cool an overheated body on the most torrid of summer days. A chilled cucumber soup sounds appealing, but most recipes turn out quite bland. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Pureeing the cucumbers into a base of sour cream and buttermilk makes the most of the subtle cucumber flavor. Add a diced cucumber for texture.
• Accent the soup with a little Dijon mustard and garlic. Make sure to mince the garlic very fine or press it through a garlic press so that it completely blends into the soup.

Adding a pound of small cooked shrimp makes this soup a perfect main course for a luncheon or light summer dinner. This soup should be eaten the same day it is made.

Serving suggestion: Use pretzel sticks instead of toothpicks for serving appetizer meatballs. They taste great and reduce waste and mess.

This works equally well as a small salad–even tossed with salad greens for more bulk–or alongside salsa fresca for scooping up with a tortilla chip.