Here’s your secret weapon for a late-summer heat wave. It’s hard to explain how utterly refreshing this soup is, lemony and slightly spicy with a hint of sweetness for mystery. Is it really white? No—palest green. Is it really a gazpacho? Who knows and who cares? It’s delicious and easy to make.
Wash and trim the cucumbers. Test the ends for bitterness, and slice them. (These thin-skinned cucumbers don’t need to be peeled.) You should have about 4½ cups.
Put the cucumbers, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, garlic, salt and chile into a blender and puree. Add the olive oil and the grapes and puree until smooth.
Transfer the soup to a bowl and whisk in yogurt, grind in some black pepper and taste. Adjust the seasoning with a pinch more salt or a little more lemon juice if needed.
Chill the soup very well. Garnish each bowl of soup with a thin drizzle of oil and a scattering of almonds and grapes.
An omnivore way: A seafood garnish could be added on top of this soup—cold cooked shrimp or crab, tossed with some olive oil, lemon and a pinch of spicy pimentón.
Michiana-grown ginger and turmeric from Clay Bottom Farm (Goshen, Indiana) inspire a warming Southeast Asian–style soup. Look for ginger at the farm's stall at the Goshen Farmers Market in late Septem...