Yogurt or Buttermilk Soup With Spinach and Grains

Name: Yogurt or Buttermilk Soup With Spinach and Grains
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: ¾ pound (1 generous bunch) spinach, stemmed and washed in 2 changes of water, or 6 ounces baby spinach, rinsed; 1 ½ cups finely diced cucumber (2 Persian cucumbers); Salt to taste; 5 cups plain low-fat yogurt (free of gums and stabilizers) or buttermilk, or a mixture of the two; 1 cup finely diced celery; 1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), finely minced or puréed with a little salt in a mortar and pestle; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (more to taste); 1 cup cooked barley, spelt, kamut or farro; ⅔ cup diced radishes; Freshly ground pepper to taste (optional); ½ teaspoon sumac (more to taste); 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro; 1 ripe Hass avocado, cut in small dice

By Martha Rose Shulman

Published June 5, 2013

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Media 1 of 1

Total Time: About 30 minutes, plus at least 1 hour's refrigeration
Rating: 4(20)
Comments: Read comments

This is informed by my yogurt or buttermilk soup with wheat berries from a few weeks ago, but this time I stirred chopped steamed spinach into the refreshing mixture. It’s a great soup to keep on hand as summer arrives. For a particularly irresistible version, add some diced avocado.

Featured in: Soups With Spinach, Five Ways

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

¾ pound (1 generous bunch) spinach, stemmed and washed in 2 changes of water, or 6 ounces baby spinach, rinsed
1 ½ cups finely diced cucumber (2 Persian cucumbers)
Salt to taste
5 cups plain low-fat yogurt (free of gums and stabilizers) or buttermilk, or a mixture of the two
1 cup finely diced celery
1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), finely minced or puréed with a little salt in a mortar and pestle
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (more to taste)
1 cup cooked barley, spelt, kamut or farro
⅔ cup diced radishes
Freshly ground pepper to taste (optional)
½ teaspoon sumac (more to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

OPTIONAL

1 ripe Hass avocado, cut in small dice

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Place the cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and place in a strainer set over the bowl. Allow to drain for 15 minutes. Rinse if desired and drain on paper towels.
Step 2
Meanwhile, steam the spinach above 1 inch of boiling water until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes, moving the leaves around with tongs once to ensure that they steam evenly. Rinse with cold water and squeeze out excess moisture. Chop medium-fine.
Step 3
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Thin out with ice water if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for one hour or longer.

Tip

Advance preparation: You can make this several hours before serving, but wait a while before you stir in the spinach so that its color doesn't fade too much. If you're making the soup to eat during the week (it makes a terrific lunch) keep the