Cacik is a traditional Turkish cucumber and yogurt dish that is very similar to tzatziki. It can be served as a side dish, a dipping sauce, or a soup if thinned out a touch. I decided to make a soup version of this to use up a bunch of cucumbers from my garden when I had a surplus.
This is an easy soup to make, and it's perfect for the dog days of summer. I added a couple of techniques to this to make the flavors a bit more robust. After I peeled and chopped my cucumbers, I salted them for awhile and squeezed out the liquid. I used the liquid to thing out the soup once I pureed the cucumbers with the garlic and yogurt. Because I this I used very little salt in the soup directly, but indirectly seasoned it first. Another addition I made to this was to add Szechuan pepper. Szechuan pepper has a very soft floral flavor that I find compliments a lot of lighter soups.
Another step that is very important, is to puree the soup prior to adding your herbs. You can do it after, but the end result will be a greener soup, as opposed to an herb loaded bright white soup.
This is also a great recipe for a dip. It's extremely similar to tzatziki, though when I make tzatziki I do normally grate the cucumbers and garlic then start the process. If you want to turn this into a quick dip, puree the base to your liking prior to thinning it out.
Enjoy.
Ingredients
Greek Yogurt, full fat 1 qt
Scallions, sliced (greens & whites separated) 1 bunch
Dill 4 sprigs
Mint 2 sprigs
Basil 1 sprig
Lemon, zested and juiced 1 ea
Garlic, minced 4 cloves
Chili Pepper (or crushed red pepper) 1 ea
Water 1 qt, as needed
Szechuan pepper, toasted and ground 2 tsp
Cucumbers, peeled and chopped 2 lbs
Salt 4 T, and more to taste
Pepper to taste
Garnish
dill springs, extra virgin olive oil
Method of Procedure
Peel and chop your cucumbers
Take you scallion whites and add them to the cucumbers with your garlic, chili flakes, and 4 T of salt. Mix thoroughly and let sit for at least an hour.
Over a bowl, grab a handful of the cucumbers and scallions then squeeze out the liquid. Place the pressed cucumber mixture into a separate bowl and repeat until all the cucumbers are pressed. Reserve the liquid for later
Add your lemon zest and juice, pepper (Szechuan and regular), yogurt, and some of the liquid from the cucumbers. Puree until smooth.
Add your water and strained liquid until you've reached your desired consistency. Make sure not to add it all at once, so you can control the salt level, and well as the thickness of the soup.
If you add too much liquid and it becomes watery, you can adjust by adding more yogurt or more cucumbers.
Lastly add your scallion greens and roughly chopped herbs. Lightly puree so as to mix, but not blend the herbs into the soup.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Place into a bowl and garnish with dill sprigs and extra virgin olive oil.
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