This Zucchini and Goat Cheese Soup with Basil and Lemon started with me wanting to "soup" up a Nigel Slater zucchini toast recipe, morphed into a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall soup recipe. I really need to make both the toast and the soup again.
What I said:
Sometimes, when I eat something that tastes really good, I stop and think, 'can I soup that?' Can I take that combination of flavors that really appeals to me and turn it into a bowl of soup? Nigel Slater's Zucchini with Basil and Goat Cheese on Toast, a dish I posted earlier in the week, is one of those flavor combos--everything that's good about summer in a bite. I thought it would make a great-tasting soup so I decided to explore and see if anyone else thought so. I found several different variations of zucchini soups with goat cheese online but ended up falling for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Courgette and Goat's Cheese Soup with Basil from the Guardian. I liked its brothy, yet creamy appeal and since it had much of what I was looking for to 'soup' this dish, I just slightly adapted it by adding in lemon juice and zest and topping it with crispy toasted croutons. Exactly what I was craving and with the same great taste of the zucchini toasts--this dish can definitely be successfully 'souped'
The Recipe (with my adaptations):
Zucchini and Goat Cheese Soup with Basil & Lemon
Adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall via TheGuardian.com
(Serves 4)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1kg (2.25 lbs) very firm small courgettes, sliced 3-4mm thick
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
About 750ml (about 3.25 cups) whole milk (or use half milk, half veg stock)
1-2 bay leaves
100g (3.5 oz) rindless mild goat's cheese
Basil leaves (or mint, if you prefer)
(I added the zest and 2 Tbsp juice from 1 lemon)
(I added pan-toasted croutons)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the courgettes and, once they're sizzling nicely but before they start to brown, turn down the heat, season with a little salt (it helps draw out the moisture) and cook gently, stirring often. As they become tender, break them down a little until they have softened almost to the point of mushiness; this can take up to half an hour. Add the garlic when the courgettes are almost done, so it gets a chance to cook but not burn. You should end up with a fragrant, garlicky, rough courgette puree. (I added the lemon zest and juice at this point.) Leave it coarse like this, or blitz in a food processor if you prefer a less chunky soup.
While the courgettes are cooking, put the milk in a pan with the bay leaves. Bring up to just below boiling, then leave to infuse.
Stir the cheese into the courgette mixture, then strain in the hot milk a little at a time and stirring all the while, until the soup is a consistency you like (I like mine fairly thick). Bring the soup scarcely to boiling point, season and ladle into warmed bowls. Top with a good trickle of extra-virgin rapeseed or olive oil, and a few shredded basil leaves (and grilled croutons and additional crumbled goat cheese if desired).
Adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall via TheGuardian.com
(Serves 4)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1kg (2.25 lbs) very firm small courgettes, sliced 3-4mm thick
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
About 750ml (about 3.25 cups) whole milk (or use half milk, half veg stock)
1-2 bay leaves
100g (3.5 oz) rindless mild goat's cheese
Basil leaves (or mint, if you prefer)
(I added the zest and 2 Tbsp juice from 1 lemon)
(I added pan-toasted croutons)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the courgettes and, once they're sizzling nicely but before they start to brown, turn down the heat, season with a little salt (it helps draw out the moisture) and cook gently, stirring often. As they become tender, break them down a little until they have softened almost to the point of mushiness; this can take up to half an hour. Add the garlic when the courgettes are almost done, so it gets a chance to cook but not burn. You should end up with a fragrant, garlicky, rough courgette puree. (I added the lemon zest and juice at this point.) Leave it coarse like this, or blitz in a food processor if you prefer a less chunky soup.
While the courgettes are cooking, put the milk in a pan with the bay leaves. Bring up to just below boiling, then leave to infuse.
Stir the cheese into the courgette mixture, then strain in the hot milk a little at a time and stirring all the while, until the soup is a consistency you like (I like mine fairly thick). Bring the soup scarcely to boiling point, season and ladle into warmed bowls. Top with a good trickle of extra-virgin rapeseed or olive oil, and a few shredded basil leaves (and grilled croutons and additional crumbled goat cheese if desired).
My Notes/Results:
Rich and decadent without being too heavy, this is a wonderful bowl of soup with great flavors. I did use half milk, half veggie stock in mine and thickened it by pureeing a couple of cups of the zucchini mixture and stirring it back in. The added lemon juice and zest brighten things up and the grilled croutons add a crisp contrast. In addition to the goat cheese blended into the soup, I crumbled a bit more on top with the shredded basil. One of my favorite zucchini soups so far--I would make this again.
Now let's see who is in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week.
Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared two soups this week: The first she says, "Shepherd's Pie Stew made with gnocchi instead of potatoes for dinners and a lunch. ... I used ground chicken but you could use any protein including the Beyond Beef crumbles to make it vegetarian."
And the second: Vegetarian Lentil and Red Bean Soup over sticky rice. ... "Great filling lunch."
Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog brought The Quickest Red Lentil Soup Ever, saying "It looks like an exotic feast, but it was one of the quickest and easiest soups I ever made. We were hungry, it was late, and I had nothing prepared for dinner except some plain rice. I decided to make my quickest easiest no prep soup ever which is healthy, delicious and also extremely frugal."
Thanks to Judee and Tina for joining me this week!
(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...
To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:
To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:
- Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.
- Although we are pretty wide on what defines a soup, sandwich or salad, entries that are clearly not in the same family (ie: desserts, meats, random main or side dishes that aren't salads, etc.) are meant for another round up and will be deleted.
and
On your entry post (on your blog):
On your entry post (on your blog):
- Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
- You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).
Have a happy, healthy week!
Deb,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see you repeat this soup which is a first timer for me . It has all the ingredients I love and looks fabulous. thanks and thanks for hosting Souper Sunday.
Great recipe! I don't care if it's hot right now, I love a good soup. Making a curry today, see you later!
ReplyDelete