Beat the Heat with Chilled Summer Squash Yogurt Dill Soup Recipe

One of my favorite things in the world for lunch or dinner is soup. Even in the heat of the summer there are plenty of chilled soups you can enjoy to cool you down. Here’s a creamy, delicious one I make every summer. Though this one has a creamy feel, it gets its luxurious texture from Greek yogurt!

Yields approximately 10 cups

Ingredients:

7 or so (just over 3 pounds) Summer Squash (Zucchini and or Yellow Squash)

1 Sweet Onion sliced into half moons (Yellow Onion is fine)

2 Garlic Cloves sliced 6 Cups (enough to cover the squash) Chicken or Vegetable Stock (homemade or use store bought as a time saver)

1 TBSP Fresh Dill stemmed and chopped 14 oz. (2 7 oz. containers)

Plain Greek Yogurt (non-fat is fine)

Approximately 2 TBSP Olive Oil or Grape Seed Oil for sautéing onion in

Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Peel onion and cut in half through the root, and then slice the onion into half moon pieces. Discard ends.

Heat enough olive to coat the bottom of a stock pot on medium low add onion and sauté until golden brown. The longer you sauté them the more caramelization they take on, which will give your soup an amazing depth of flavor. However if you don’t have the time sautéing them until soft is fine.

While the onions are sautéing, clean and chop the summer squash… I used zucchini and yellow squash.

Add the garlic in the last several minutes and cook until softened, but not browned. Garlic takes on a bitter taste when browned which you do not want in your soup.

Add stock and squash/zucchini plus salt and pepper.

Bring not quite to a boil and simmer until the squash is soft. Turn off heat to cool liquid before blending.

Blend in batches adding the solids with what liquid scoops with it into each batch. Add additional salt and pepper while blending to taste if needed. I like this soup a little on the thicker side so I don’t use all of the broth. You can strain and freeze the remaining broth for a future dish. I usually have 2 ½ cups or so left. Make sure to hold the lid down firmly with a towel if the liquid is hot so it doesn’t force the lid off and spray everything with hot liquid.

Mix together and then chill.

Once chilled, mix in yogurt and dill and finish seasoning. Although you can eat it at this point, the dill flavor will develop if you let it chill several hours or overnight. I love dill and am heavy handed with it so I added a little extra. Experiment to strike the right balance for your taste! If you don’t use all of the stock, strain it and save it for another use. Garnish with some dill, smoked salmon, or as I did with a little shredded Alaskan snow crab leg. I found some for $7.99 per pound at the seafood counter in my grocery store, and at less than 35 cents per leg segment shredding just one per bowl adds a little something special!

For a light summer meal, serve along side grilled ciabatta bread with crème fresh (or cream cheese) and smoked salmon and lemon zest. I homesmoked some wild caught Sockeye in my stovetop smoker over Alder wood chips. But it’s hot out right? … and store bought is great too!

Dana Wilde grew up playing “sous chef” for her father as he churned out one amazing meal after the next for family and friends. She inherited her father’s life long passion for cooking and has spent the past two decades studying, reading, practicing, experimenting, and creating in the kitchen. Together, she and her sister, Shan are Simply Wilde, a small boutique catering business focusing on in-home entertaining.