A Summer Zucchini Soup I Have Loved: Zucchini & Goat Cheese Soup with Basil & Lemon for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was totally going to make soup this week but I got busty on work things and it didn't happen. Since I have friends in the Souper Sundays kitchen, I am going to repost a favorite soup from 2014 instead to lead the roundup.

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).

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:

• 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):

• 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).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week!

 

Revisiting a Pickle Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

So yeah, I was going to make a chilled cucumber soup this week that literally is just the easy steps of chopping/blending/chilling, and I got caught up in one of my book clubs this morning. Then I had a headache. Basically, I was just lazy again. I was going to do a round up of soups but I was thinking about the great love for pickle-flavored things lately (not just me it seems) and thought about this Pickle Soup I made a few years ago.

It was from one of my soup "bibles," Love Soup by Anna Thomas. I made it for Mother's Day in 2016, when I was missing my mom, the year after losing her, So the original post is a bit of a downer but the soup was really delicious--and I know my mom would have enjoyed it too.

Here's what I wrote:

When I went to the tabbed recipe, I took a moment to read the story behind it, something I had forgotten about, and realized that the author made this soup for her own mother when she was old and in failing health to tempt her appetite because it was "full of the flavors of her Polish kitchen." The connection between that mother and daughter seemed another reason that this soup called to be made this weekend. I think my mom would have enjoyed it--she was a great fan of barley soups and although not the dill and pickle fanatic that I am, she enjoyed the flavors and as Thomas points out, "...the pickles are one small part of this soup. They melt into the whole, and if you weren't told about them, you wouldn't necessarily know--you'd just love the tangy, dilly flavor of this great soup." 

And the recipe:

Pickle Soup
Adapted from Love Soup by Anna Thomas
(Makes 10 Servings)

1/2 cup pearl barley (I used 1 cup quick-cooking pearl barley)

1 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup chopped leeks, white & light green parts (I used 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz portobello, cremini, or other brown mushrooms, chopped
thyme
8 oz Yukon gold potatoes, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 medium turnip, peeled and diced
1/2 bunch green chard (I used about 3 cups baby spinach)
1 wedge savoy cabbage (I used 1/2 head green cabbage)
1 medium red bell pepper, cored and diced or large roasted pimento from a jar
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used fresh tarragon)
3 cups good vegetable broth (I used 4 cups + 4 cups water)
1 cup finely diced dill pickles, plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper 
optional garnishes: (vegan) sour cream, yogurt cheese, or farmer cheese 

Rinse the barley, put it in a large soup pot with 8 cups (2 liters) water and 1 teaspoon salt, and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet and add the chopped onion. Lower the heat to medium and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the chopped leeks and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, or until the onion and leeks are soft and beginning to color.

In another skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil and stir the garlic in it over high heat for about a minute. Add the mushrooms, a dash of salt, and a pinch of thyme and sauté the mushrooms until their excess liquid cooks away and they are sizzling, about 10 minutes.

Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, and turnip to the barley, along with another half a teaspoon of salt. You can add a cup or two of water if it is needed to keep everything submerged. Bring the liquid back to a simmer and cook, covered, for 15 more minutes.

While the root vegetables are cooking, wash the chard, remove the tough stems, and chop the leaves coarsely. Shred the wedge of cabbage into 1/2-inch strips. Add the sautéed onion and leeks and the sautéed mushrooms to the soup, deglazing the pans with a bit of water. Stir in the chard, cabbage, bell pepper, dill, parsley, and vegetable broth. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the finely diced pickles and simmer for 10 minutes more.

My method: I used the soup pot to sauté my onions and leeks, then my carrot and celeryuntil softened, then I added my broth, turnip and potatoes and simmered it for about 10minutes. Meanwhile, I sautéd my garlic, thyme and mushroom in a separate pan as directed and set aside. I then added my 10-minute barley, red pepper, cabbage, spinach, dill, tarragon and the mushrooms (deglazing the pan) to the soup and cooked it for 10 minutes. Finally, I added in the dill pickles and simmered the soup for 10 more minutes before tasting and adjusting the seasoning.  

Taste the soup, and adjust the seasoning with more salt and some freshly ground pepper. The pickles become milder over time, releasing their acidity into the soup as they cook; your soup will have a more subtle flavor after it simmers a little longer. 

Thomas says, "This is an old-fashioned soup, and tastes great with a spoonful of sour cream or yogurt cheese, or plain white farmer cheese. ... You'll have a big pot of soup--enough for about 10 meal-sized servings. I like to freeze it for another time."  

What I said about the flavor and how it turned out:

Notes/Results: This soup is a homey, nicely balanced bowl of great flavors and textures. The pickles mellow as the soup sits and cooks so it isn't like you are biting into a sour dill pickle, but it gives the soup a lovely acidity. The dill is prominent but the thyme and the small amount of tarragon I added are there too, adding to the layers. I put in extra barley and of course it absorbs liquid readily, so that with all of the veggies it has a definite stew-like feel. The veggies are a good mix too with the sweeter carrots and red pepper, slightly pungentturnip and cabbage, the earthiness of the mushrooms and the buttery goodness of the Yukon gold potatoes. I had some vegan sour cream in the fridge and I liked the way it added creaminess to the soup when stirred into it. Thomas suggests serving it with pumpernickel or rye bread but I had some dill pickle Kettle Chips that I thought were fun, slightly crushed and sprinkled on top. It's a good thing I like this soup because it makes a lot, so I intend to try freezing some for later. I would make it again.  

-----

Perhaps I will make it again one of these days or find another pickle soup recipe to try. Next week, I'll try to be back with a new soup. Until then, let's see who is in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week.

Judee of Gluten Free A - Z Blog shared this Exotic Fruit Salad Platter, made for a birthday celebration for her son who avoids inflammatory foods, saying "The exotic fruit salad platter included: Dragon fruit, papaya, kiwi, guava, mango, strawberries, and star fruit. His candles were placed in a banana. Everyone enjoyed a healthy celebration made with fruit salad instead of cake!!"

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor brings Smash Burgers, accompanied by hash browns, saying, "Hash browns can be a nice part of breakfast or a side with a grilled sandwich. There are quite a few varieties available at the market if you don't feel like using a potato ricer or shredding your own potatoes with a grater. ... We've had hash browns with breakfast as well as lunch with burgers. Not in the same day 😗The grill press was also used on ground beef to make smash burgers."

Shaheen from Allotment2Kitchen shared her Chargrilled Courgette Quiche with a Side Salad of Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Onions, saying. "It was handy making this Chargrilled quiche in advance, as last week it was extremely hot and this made for buffet style lunch and dinner. I am also taking the opportunity to share this slice of quiche with a simple side salad of cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion with  Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen."  

Thanks to Judee, Tina, and Shaheen 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:

• 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):

• 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).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week!