A Trip to France – Cucumber Gazpacho with Lemon Yogurt
Some dishes are traditional, with ingredients that you know from experience, work well together. Caprese salad with summer tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella comes to mind. Others are wildly exciting because flavors that should clash actually work together beautifully. I had such a dish this summer – cucumber gazpacho with lemon yogurt – on a trip to France with my wife.
Our trip was a delight. The food was a treat all around, and over the course of a dozen or so days, there were many excellent meals, and three that were truly exceptional. Needless to say, we were happy the airline didn’t question us about our weight as we boarded our departing flight.
One of the outstanding meals was in the city of Rennes in the Brittany region of France at the restaurant L’Atelier Des Gourmets, which received a Michelin Bib Gourmand, recognition of good quality, good value cooking. While the entire meal was excellent, it was the amuse bouche (literally “mouth amuser” – a gratis bite-size taste at the beginning of the meal) that stood out. It was a small glass cup of cucumber gazpacho with lemon yogurt.
While it was only a small taste, it set the stage, as an amuse bouche should, for the meal that followed. The gazpacho was cold and refreshing, an excellent way to cool down and settle into the meal with a glass of wine on a warm summer evening. The lemon yogurt added a barely tart creaminess that was a perfect foil for the slightly spicy bite of the gazpacho. We knew from the first taste of this small first course that this was a meal we would cherish forever, and a recipe that I would attempt to re-create when we returned home.
Cucumber Gazpacho with Lemon Yogurt
This recipe is perfect on a warm summer evening as a starter to a bigger meal, both because it is cool and refreshing, and because you don’t need to turn on the stove.
It calls for French-style lemon yogurt. I’m sure there are substitutes, but we found the yogurt in France to be an absolute pleasure; full-fat, of course, but smooth and luscious on the tongue. Try to find some brand of French-style yogurt if possible, but if you must substitute, I’m sure any full-fat variety will still be delicious.
20 minutes, plus chilling time, 4 servings as a small plate
2 English cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
½ a fresh jalapeño, seeds and membrane removed and roughly chopped
½ a clove garlic, pressed
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
8 oz. French-style lemon yogurt (such as Oui by Yoplait)
4 oz. plain yogurt
Chopped tomatoes for garnish
- Add the cucumber, jalapeño, garlic, salt, pepper, honey, sherry vinegar, olive oil, and tarragon to a blender or food processor. Blend to a puree. Taste and correct seasonings if needed. Since the soup will be served chilled, be especially mindful that it may need more salt. Remove to a bowl and chill for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld.
- Mix the lemon yogurt and plain yogurt in a bowl to combine and set aside in the refrigerator to chill.
- Divide the yogurt among four small bowls or shot glasses. Carefully spoon the gazpacho on top to create two layers. Place the bowls or glasses in the refrigerator to chill until you are ready to serve.
- Top with chopped tomatoes and sprigs of tarragon.
Were these pictures of the gazpacho taken at home or at the restaurant? They’re great!
Thanks! These are pictures of the gazpacho I made at home. While I did take pictures of almost everything we ate in France, they were done quickly and are not very good. I mainly took them to remember each meal.