Cold Cream Of Cucumber Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

5 cups vegetable broth
5 smooth-skinned cucumbers
1 potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 leeks, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 cup sour cream or 1 cup yogurt
salt & freshly ground black pepper
fresh chives

Preparation

Bring the vegetable broth to the boil.
Chop 4 of the cucumbers coarsely.
Thinly slice the fifth, and set the slices aside.
Add the chopped cucumbers, potato, leeks, shallot and garlic to the boiling broth, and cook until tender, about 45 minutes.
Remove from heat and blend.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and cool.
Refrigerate for several hours, until well chilled.
To serve, pour the chilled soup into a soup tureen, add the sliced cucumbers and chopped chives.
Spoon the sour cream or yogurt on top, or serve it separately at the table.