Chilled Cucumber Soup with Arugula Pesto Recipe

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Arugula Pesto

SERVES 6

This cool, pale-green soup complements grilled dishes. Make it and the accompanying pesto earlier on the day of the meal or even a night ahead. As this recipe proves, pesto, a classic paste of basic ingredients, can contain many different greens besides the traditional basil. If you are not using the pesto within about 1 hour, cover it with plastic wrap laid directly onto the pesto to maintain its vivid green color, and refrigerate the pesto until it is needed.

Pesto

2 cups lightly packed arugula leaves
1 clove garlic
½ cup (2 ¼-oz. pkg.) sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt to taste

Soup

2 12- to 14-oz. cucumbers, preferably English or European, peeled and seeded
2 scallions, with green tops, cut into chunks
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
Pinch white pepper
Salt to taste

To make Pesto: Put arugula and garlic in a food processor, and process. Add almonds and Parmesan cheese, and process again. With motor running, pour in oil, and process until a thick paste forms. Add salt to taste. Set aside.
To make Soup: Put cucumbers, scallions and buttermilk in a food processor or blender, and pur8Ee. Season with pepper and salt. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or longer if possible.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Spoon about 1/2 tablespoon pesto into each bowl, and serve soup. Offer any remaining pesto in a bowl on side.