Cucumber Soup

Thanks to Minette Greenman, who will always be loved as a beloved grandmother!

Ingredients:

4 or 5 large cucumbers
Salt
1/3 cup roughly chopped scallions, including the tender part of the green
¼ teaspoon sugar
Dribbles of wine vinegar
Fresh or dried dill leaves
White pepper
Handful of watercress
¼ to ½ cup sour cream
Decoration: thin slices of cucumber; fresh dill

Directions: This is a refreshing, lightly creamy puree that is fast to make in a processor but can also be adapted to a vegetable mill. Peel and halve the cucumbers. Scrape the seeds and juice, as shown, into a sieve set over a bowl: sprinkle with a big pinch of salt and let drain. Start up the processor (steel blade). Drop in the chopped scallions: chop the cucumbers roughly and add in along with the sugar, a little vinegar. ¼ teaspoon of dill, several grinds of white pepper, the watercress and the juices pressed out of the seeds. Whiz in ¼ cup or so of sour cream. Taste carefully and correct seasoning, exaggerating a little because the puree will be served cold. Refrigerate an hour or more to blend flavors.

Correct seasoning again before serving, stirring in additional sour cream, if you wish. Decorate each bowl attractively with cucumber and dill.

(A teaspoon is the easiest instrument for scraping the seeds out of a cucumber for soup or salad. Here the juices will be strained and added in to flavor the soup).