I admit, I could live on soups of every variety. I know many people who hardly approve of soup as a food, but I love it year round and Tim lets me cook it all summer long without complaint. Here is one of our favorite summer soups. Head to your local farmers’ market or back yard garden and snag some squash and basil and give this a go. The result is a light, buttery, herby soup that is perfect even for the closing of the hottest day.
Zucchini Soup with Fresh Basil
Sweat:
3 tbsp butter
1 cup celery
1 cup of onion finely minced
one bay leaf
1/2 tsp of dried or fresh thyme
When the onion begins to look translucent, add in:
1.5 lbs. zucchini, peeled and cut into ½ to 1 inch chunks
2-3 c. stock
Cook for 20 minutes at a low simmer and remove bay leaf. Stir in a 10 ounce bag of fresh spinach leaves if you’d like, but we usually omit this. Puree and strain for stems if using spinach. Then puree with at least 10 fresh basil leaves. Season to taste and serve!
This recipe is similar to this one found at Food & Wine magazine: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/zucchini-soup-with-basil, which could be the original recipe, but it was given to me in pen-and-paper form from a dear friend in L.A. so I could be mistaken.
