Cucumber Smoothie with Feta, Mint and Basil

Name: Cucumber Smoothie Recipe with Feta, Mint and Basil
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Slightly overripe green cucumbers 5-6; Lime 0.5 lime; Basil and mint 0.5 bunch; Feta 50 g; Salt to taste; Ice for serving (4-5 cubes per glass)

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15 mins

In summer we often make light, tasty, thick cold drinks. Most often they are smoothies made from vegetables and greens. When I was a child there were practically no such drinks, at most juice with pulp. There were, however, purees of fresh fruit and vegetables, and fresh juices, since almost everyone had a juicer. Cucumbers are ideal for thick drinks, especially if they are slightly overripe.

In the garden, cucumbers grow very fast and, as a result, overripen very fast. The ideal moment to use them is when the seeds are not yet tough but the “green” stage has already passed. Then they are at their juiciest and have a pleasant flavor.

A blender is used to puree the ingredients. It can be a countertop blender for a fairly large volume, an immersion blender, which is handy for 1-2 cups, or a compact household one, which almost every kitchen has. For flavor we use mint and basil, plus lime juice. A small amount of mild Greek feta gives the drink a special taste; it blends beautifully with the cucumber pulp and almost dissolves into it.

Ingredients

2 servings

Slightly overripe green cucumbers 5-6
Lime 0.5 lime
Basil and mint 0.5 bunch
Feta 50 g
Salt to taste
Ice for serving (4-5 cubes per glass)

Step-by-step recipe

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Preparation

In season, you can buy everything you need for a cucumber smoothie at the nearest market. Slightly overripe green cucumbers, often considered salad cucumbers, are plentiful and cheap. The same market has plenty of herbs, so pick the freshest. Use only fresh mint and basil, literally “crisp”. Limes and feta are sold in supermarkets; just check the ingredients of the cheese to make sure it isn’t a “cheese product”. And I advise freezing enough ice for serving ahead of time.
Peel the cucumbers and cut them in half. If seeds have already formed, carefully scrape them out with a teaspoon. Otherwise, when blended, they will be felt in the drink as small hard bits. If the seeds are soft and barely noticeable, you can leave them. Dice the cucumbers.
Pull all the leaves off the mint and basil sprigs and chop them with a knife. It’s best to cut all the extra ingredients fairly small before blending; that way the blender will puree them more evenly and there won’t be any chunks.

Smoothie

Don’t puree the cucumbers ahead of time; their flavor tends to change and they start to taste like lightly salted pickles.
Put the cucumbers and all the herbs into a small saucepan or a tall bowl, add salt and squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Blend until smooth; I use a handheld immersion blender. It’s easy and quick. Just put the blender into the mixture of ingredients and press the button. This amount of cucumber mixture is blended in 1-2 mins.
Cut the Greek feta into pieces or crumble it by hand and add it to the cucumber smoothie. Turn the blender on again and blend the mixture with the cheese until smooth. Taste the drink and, if needed, add salt and lime juice; it’s a matter of taste. By the way, I read somewhere that garlic and hot pepper are added to this mixture. I don’t like it that way, but you can try.
Pour the finished smoothie into a bowl and chill it if you have time. Usually this drink is served as a refreshing, cooling one. However, if you are making it from cucumbers that have been in the fridge, the chilling can be shortened considerably. You can also add crushed ice made from boiled water to the smoothie. This solves two problems at once: it makes the drink less thick and colder.

Serving

Cucumber smoothie is usually served in a tall glass. Drop 4-5 ice cubes into the bottom of the glass and pour in the drink. Garnish with a sprig of herbs and add a straw that isn’t the thinnest kind. I remember that when my daughter was little, she flatly refused to drink drinks like this unless a decorative paper umbrella was stuck in them. Treat yourself.

Calories and macros

125 kcal

Serving ≈ 380 g

Protein6 g20% of kcal
Fat6 g41% of kcal
Carbs12 g39% of kcal

100 g33 kcalProtein 1.7 gFat 1.5 gCarbs 3.3 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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