A very talented friend of mine, Hanne Cole, one of the creators of Louie Louie London, Folds Caffee and Butch Salads, came up with this fabulous soup recipe at some of my Inspirational Fermentation Courses a few years ago. It was a big hit! At the beginning of London Fermentary, when we were developing our water kefir flavours and ferments, we would sample them to all our friends and customers to have their feedback. Hanne was one of those rare people who would always be able to state ingredients and spices in most complex ferments and water kefirs. She would always have an idea of how she could use our products in her menus. Her natural ability to pair ferments with regular food led us to collaborate together and create a series of recipes for you guys to use in everyday life and special occasions. This is something we were thinking for a couple of years but never had time to do anything about it. All that drama happened in the world and lockdown, made us to prioritise what we would like to do what we enjoy and what fulfils us. We love food, delicious and healthy food, and we would love to share our knowledge with you. I believe that fermented food is here to help us, as long as provide new layers of flavour. Now like never before, us humans, need to be so conscious of what we consume. I don’t want to go deep into this topic in this post, but the food is who we are, it supports us during our lives, it can make us ill or healthy. Fermented food is fantastic and natural immune booster, but sometimes people don’t know how to incorporate ferments into their diet. So here is the first simple recipe from our collaboration. Enjoy, Elena ❤️

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Ferment Juice

True to the nature of fermenting, nothing goes to waste. The liquid from the jar is a great way to add flavour and nutrition to soups, sauces, dressings and drinks. This recipe couldn’t be simpler or more satisfying on a hot summer’s day; ideally, all the ingredients come straight from the fridge to make it extra refreshing.

Serves 4 / preparation 15 minutes

Roughly chop the cucumbers, garlic, mint leaves and dill and put in a blender with the yoghurt, vinegar and ferment juice. Blend until smooth and season to taste. Serve in a bowl or glass with the crumbled feta on top, a swirl of olive oil, celery seeds and a sprig of dill.

Ingredients:
2 cucumbers

1 garlic clove

small bunch mint

small bunch dill

500g greek yoghurt

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2tsp celery seeds

100g crumbled feta

olive oil

4 tbsp Liquid from ferment jar eg Giardiniera, White Kraut, Zesty Lemon & Dill or Umami Kraut.

salt & pepper