Cucumber Soup with Bacon Gremolata

This chilled cucumber soup is creamy, refreshing and the bacon gremolata takes it over the top.

Aside from turning on the stovetop to fry the bacon you really don’t have to heat up your kitchen. And hey, heating up the kitchen just for a hot second to fry bacon isn’t half bad. You can also fry your bacon in a cast iron pan on the outdoor grill too (which is my trick in this heat.) Regardless of which method you choose I hope you all enjoy this soup as much as we do. Serve it alongside a simple green salad and Viola! Dinner is served.

Ingredients:

Bacon Gremolata

•     3 strips of good quality thick cut bacon
•     1/2 cup unsalted almonds
•     3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
•     1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Cucumber Soup

•     2 large slicing cucumbers, roughly peeled and finely chopped
•     1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
•     3 1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice
•     3 garlic cloves, minced
•     1/4 cup dill, stems removed and diced
•     1/4 cup parsley, thick stems removed and diced
•     1/4 cup olive oil
•     pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
•     salt and pepper to taste
•     a small handful of ice cubes

Directions:

1. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove from the heat and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. When cool enough to handle chop into small pieces. Place the almonds in a small food processor and process until they are finely chopped, being careful not to over process into a nut butter–you want a little texture here. In a bowl toss the bacon, almonds, minced parsley and lemon zest together.
2. In a blender combine the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, parsley, ice cubes and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
3. Keep soup chilled until ready to serve. If you use ice cubes it should be ready to eat right away. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
4. Divide the soup between bowls and top with the bacon germolata.