I will be honest, I had those two sad courgettes in my fridge looking at me every time I opened the door and be disappointed that yet, again- I had chosen some other vegetable. I am really sorry, your time has come at last! Courgette soup will save you tonight.
Okay, that soup was supposed to just let me clear the fridge from those forgotten vegetables at the back of the drawer but in fact- it’s delicious! It way exceeded my expectations so I decided to share the secret with you. Perhaps together we can give a decent life to those sad, forgotten veggies at the back of the fridge.
Other variations
Feel free to add any other vegetables that might need using. Few examples of vegetables and fruit that wouldn’t affect the colour much but would add a tonne of flavour are:
- pear without skin
- cauliflower
- tinned white beans (with liquid)
- apple without skin
- leek- white part only
Serve with:
- marmite croutons
- tortilla cheesy triangle
- toasted bread
- fresh parsley
- chopped walnuts
- dark molasses
- capers
- microgreens
You can keep this courgette soup as simple or as complicated as you’d like. Skip the wine if you don’t have it, add any leftover double cream if it’s been open and you don’t know what to do with it. You can even add a splash of soy sauce of Henderson’s relish but be warned that it will change the colour of the soup.
Freezing
Also, this is the perfect way to stock up for those times when you really do not want to cook. Any blended soups freeze really well in my experience. If you are using cream make sure it’s full fat; Single cream tends to split when it defrosts so for freezing purposes keep to the fatty side. Apart from that it will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months. Perfect for those times when you mood is rather low but you still need nourishing food to keep you going. From someone who deals with recurring anxiety I can tell you how important that is.
If you are in mood for soup, why don’t you try my spicy carrot soup? I promise, it’s just as easy and delicious as this one.
Courgette soup
Equipment
- 1 cooking pot
- 1 hand blender
Ingredients
- 1 big courgette
- 2 celery sticks
- 2 medium potatoes
- 1 small onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 10 g butter or oil if vegan
- 1/2 stock cube
- 500 ml water
- 100 ml white wine optional
- 100 ml double cream optional
- salt
- black pepper
To garnish
- a bunch of capers
- olive oil
Instructions
- Melt butter (or heat up oil) on medium heat and add chopped onions- cook until translucent and starting to become golden- about 5-6 minutes. If you want your soup to be white-ish, peel off courgettes, if you are not bothered, keep the skin on. Add slices of courgette, chopped celery sticks and cook until they start to brown a little. Add clove of garlic and deglaze with wine. Cook to reduce the liquid and get rid of alcohol. Add potatoes, stock cube and just enough water to cover all the vegetables. Simmer for about 15 minutes until all vegetables are soft. Blend using hand blender and serve hot.
- If you have some leftover cream that needs using, add it to the soup, otherwise I wouldn't bother; It's perfect on its own.
