Recipe: Velvet Turtle Cucumber Soup for (Ms.Beth.)

VELVET TURTLE CUCUMBER SOUP

The Velvet Turtle chain of restaurants in Los Angeles serve this outstanding creamy soup that many of their patrons clamor for year in year out. This is not easy to make but it is an authentic recipe that the Velvet turtle corp shared with the readers of the Los Angeles Times newspaper in the 1970's.

1 onion
1 cup chopped leek (white part only)
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced.
4 Tbsp. butter (approx.) Divided
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbls dry white wine
2 cups of water
1 1/2 tsp.chicken base
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2teas lemon juice
5 drops hot pepper sauce
Dash chopped or fresh dried dill.
1/2 cup half &half (if required)
sour cream, optional
Lemon wedges, parsley.

Reserve 1/2 cup of diced cucumber.

Saute onions, leeks & cucumber, in 2 Tbls of butter until onions are transparent. Season to taste with salt/pepper. Cook and stir till blended. Add wine, water, & chicken base & bring to a boil. melt 2 Tbsp of butter in small pan & blend in flour. Add to onion mixture & simmer 1 hour.

Process soup in blender or food processor about short blasts totaling 12/15 seconds. Then strain through fine sieve. Add whipping cream, lemon juice,pepper sauce, dill, & reserved diced cucumber. Cool soup completely,correct seasonings to your taste, add half & half if soup is too thick. Serve in chilled soup cups. Add 1/2 teas sour cream to each & garnish with lemon wedge & parsley,if desired. Makes 6 servings. Beth, good-luck, let us know if you make this soup & how it turned out for you. Chef Dunask.