zucchini + basil {soup}

The never-ending summer game of playing ‘zucchini catch-up’ continues. Even though I thought I had cleared our zucchini patch of most potential big zucchinis last week, look what I was greeted with when we arrived in Umbria on Friday evening.

Our neighbor, Mario, comes to water the vegetable garden during the week. And very graciously picks things that he think might get too ripe before we arrive. I always love his sense of design. He never just plops things down on the kitchen counter. He carefully arranges them in a neat row, like some sort of zucchini still life. (maybe Mario should start his own blog?)

I’d been wanting to make cold zucchini soup for a while, so this seemed like a good excuse. I was inspired by a comment on my blog the other day, by Julia, who said that she makes a simple soup of pureed zucchini and basil. “Another easy recipe to try with the next big batch: Zucchini Basil Soup {sauté with garlic & shallots, simmer with water and purée with fresh basil} – it’s so creamy, everyone always think it’s dairy based” Sounded good to me.

I made my version with an onion , but not much else. Not even garlic, since I wanted the soup to be on the sweet side, all about the zucchini.

But I did go nuts on the basil front. A huge bunch. About as much as I would use when making pesto. I also added just a bit of lemon, since I thought it needed some acidity.

The result was a super creamy (just as Julia promised in her comment) bright green soup. I garnished it with some freshly cut chives, as well as some barely steamed zucchini batons to give it some texture.

My next project is to see if this freezes well.  I see it as a potential easy and delicious solution to zucchini overload. While I served it cold on a summer evening, I’m thinking it would be just as good warmed up on a fall day. When, just maybe, I’ll be longing for zucchini instead of desperately trying to think up new recipes.

zucchini and basil soup
(serves four as first course, two as main)

4 medium zucchini
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 large bunch of basil (about 2 cups of leafs)
Juice of one lemon
1 medium zucchini (for garnish)
chives

Pour oil into a large pan, and add onions. Cook over medium heat until wilted. Add zucchini and salt and cook until the zucchini begin to break down. Add water to cover by one inch. Bring to simmer, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes.

Cut the other zucchini into small, 2 inch batons, and steam for just a few minutes to barely cook. Take off heat and set aside.

Turn off heat and let cool. Using an immersible blender, blend until very smooth. Place in refrigerator and chill well. Just before serving, add basil and lemon juice and blend again. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls and top with some of the steamed zucchini, chives and a few basil leaves. If you’d like, you can also drizzle with yogurt or a dollop of sour cream. I meant to swirl in a bit of good balsamic, but forgot. Let me know if you do, and how it is.