Herby Cucumber Soup for When You’re In the Long Hot Girdle of the Earth
While developing this recipe, I’m reading The Lover (1984) by Marguerite Duras. She’s writing about Indochina, crossing the Mekong River: “… we have just the one season, hot, monotonous, we’re in the long hot girdle of the earth, with no spring, no renewal.”
I’ve only been in Philadelphia long enough to know the heat, which feels omnipresent and eternal. It’s oozing out of my pores; my veins are nothing but a complex interstate pumping and funneling heat around.
It feels strange to feel passionately about a cold soup, even stranger to say I crave this soup. My cravings generally refer to baser carnal desires like beer, brownies, or potato chips. Experiencing the same euphoric pleasure from a dish that might be described as dainty is new. Resplendent with tender herbs, thick yogurt, and fresh spinach, this soup radiates energy and health.
Rejuvenation isn’t a sensation I often associate with eating, but this soup is enlivening, cooling, and refreshing —transformative on a cellular level. It's satisfying too, thanks to the fat from whole milk yogurt, tahini, and a generous amount of olive oil. With Philadelphia in the grip of an oppressive heat wave, my blender hasn’t seen the last of it.
Like any good soup, this one improves with time. Tonight’s dinner makes an even better lunch tomorrow as the ingredients develop, reaching their full expression after a few hours of mingling together.
For garnish, I enjoy a generous sprinkle of za’atar or crumbles of goat cheese, always finishing with a healthy glug of olive oil and pita on the side.
Herby Cucumber Soup
Ingredients:
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, deseeded, and roughly chopped
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
2 TBSP tahini
Heaping 1/2 cup full fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup dill, packed
1/2 cup basil, packed
1/2 cup parsley
1/4 cup mint
2 handfuls of spinach
1/2 cup water, plus more as needed to blend
1 tsp of salt, plus more to taste
Directions:
Add everything to blender except spinach.
Blend on high for 2 minutes, adding more water if necessary.
Add spinach, blend for another 2 minutes until completely smooth.
Check for seasoning, add more salt if needed.
