Monday, August 13, 2007

One Zucchini, Two Zucchini, Three Zuccini, Four.

Yellow Zucchini Soup with Parmesan and Basil

It’s good to be home, or at the very least, it is good not to be traveling across Canada with a toddler. While it was difficult enough to leave beautiful British Columbia and my family, the flights home did very little to help boost my spirits.
Oh, to the Air Canada flight attendant who spilled hot coffee down the back of my neck and onto my (finally) sleeping child: MERCI.
Bravo.

That was one flight I have never been happier to exit.
But, we made it back safe and sound. My garden was not there to greet me upon my return; instead there was a mighty jungle that I hardly recognized. Three weeks of varied rain and hot sun had helped most plants to double in size…and the weeds were not far behind. I immediately harvested nearly a dozen foot-long zucchinis. I laid them all out on my lawn while Noah danced around happily saying "Nee! Nee!" (his word for zucchini) as they are his favorite vegetable.

They were massive! I had my doubts as to how tasty they would be, but they were beautiful and have been featured in several dishes so far such as Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Zucchini Gratine with Cherry tomatoes and Gruyere, and of course, beautiful soup.

I've been delving into my copy of the River Cafe Cookbook and loving every recipe. It's such a fantastic interpretation of Italian cooking and I dig how there is minimal focus on pasta. (Sometimes pasta gets much more than it's deserved fifteen minutes of fame in Italian cookbooks) This zucchini soup recipe comes from the fabulous River Cafe cookbook and it was perfect- even Noah liked it.

Zuppa di Zucchini

1 kg zucchini, trimmed
25 ml olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
500 ml chicken stock or water
140 ml double cream
1 small bunch basil, chopped
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
120 g Parmesan, grated

Cut the zucchini into quarters, then into 1 inch pieces. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and cook the garlic and zucchini slowly for approximately 25 minutes until the zucchinis are brown and very soft. Add salt, pepper and the stock, and simmer for another few minutes. Remove from the stove.

Put three-quarters of the zucchini in a food processor and puree. Return to the pan, and add the cream, basil, parsley and Parmesan. Heat gently and serve.

4 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I still have a number of zucchini donated by friends. This soup looks like a delicious way to use more!!! I've already made Chocolate Zucchini Cake, Zucchini Rpie, Ratatouille Pasta and now on to soup!!!!!

Nora B. said...

Lovely soup. And what a bountiful harvest! Did I see zucchini flowers? What will you do with them? I don't usually eat fried food, but i love deep-fried stuffed zucchini flowers.

Aimée said...

Hi Valli- do try the soup, you won't be disappointed. It's a reminder of autumn to come soon..

Hi Nora- I haven't tried anything ambitious with the blossoms, but I don't really have enough to work with. I ordered deep-fried zucchini blossoms at a resto last week, though. YUM!

Tammy said...

I can so see Noah saying Nee Nee! Adorable.

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