Serves 4
4 cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthways and seeds removed
300ml vegetable nage (see below)
200ml double cream
100g fresh horseradish
2 tbsp chopped chives
2 tbsp chopped chervil
150g mascarpone cheese
Squeeze of lemon juice
2 tbsp creamed horseradish
100g fresh crab
75ml home-made mayonnaise
4 slices sourdough bread
Freshly ground salt and pepper
1 Slice three of the cucumbers and place in a bowl with the vegetable nage, cream, fresh horseradish and half the herbs. Cover and chill for 24 hours.
2 Place the mixture in a food processor and process until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve or chinois, pressing the mixture firmly with the back of a spoon.
3 Place the mascarpone in the food processor with half the cucumber mixture and process until smooth. Gradually add the remaining cucumber pur?e.
4 Stir in the lemon juice and creamed horseradish and season well. Chill for 6-8 hours.
5 Finely dice the remaining cucumber and mix with the crab, mayonnaise and the reserved herbs.
6 When ready to serve, spoon the soup into chilled bowls, and dress with a drizzle of olive oil and plenty of black pepper. Toast the sourdough and add a spoonful of the crab mixture to each slice.