Everyone's been welcoming Fall with soup and apples and pumpkins and all that good stuff, so I figured I would join the club. While some of you may think that I am late in greeting this windy season, I think I am just on time. Constant rain and thunderstorms and humidity is not Fall, people. But when you wake up early in the morning and it's 57 degrees outside...that is Fall. That is when you bring out the slippers and the hoodies. And you start cooking soups like this one.
By the time I finished cooking this soup, it was actually 63 degrees outside and very sunny, which kind of goes against my point here...but let's disregard that. It was still cool outside. And I saw a couple of leaves fall off the tree in my backyard.
This was my first time cooking a non-Algerian soup. Algerian soups are what I've known all my life. I've never had anything beside them. I've never even had chicken noodle soup. So I guess you could say I was a bit worried about how this one would come out and if my family would like it. But as it turns out, this soup tasted very similar to an Algerian soup that my family has all the time, known as bouyoun. The name bouyoun comes from the French word, bouillon, which means broth. And that's basically what bouyoun is; a vegetable broth.
In traditional Algerian bouyoun, my mom uses carrots, squash, celery, onions and potatoes. She boils them in large pot of water and then purees them into a soup. That's exactly what I did here, except I only used zucchini. Seven ingredients and 30 minutes later, I had an aromatic, velvety green soup in front of me. It was incredibly easy to put together and my dad loved it.
I personally wouldn't say it was fantastic, but it was pretty good. I think I was more looking forward to the lasagna I had just popped into the oven, so my opinion might be slightly biased here. Overall though, this soup is a simple, healthy, and delicious way to use your zucchini and I would definitely recommend it for a quick weeknight dinner....and for kids who won't eat their veggies. AKA, moi.
Summer Garden Soup
Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup onion, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 pounds (or one 10-inch) zucchini, coarsely chopped
3 cups water
1/3 cup packed basil leavespinch of black pepper
Directions:
Heat oil in 3 to 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, about 5 minutes. Add salt and garlic and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Add zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add water and simmer, partially covered, until tender, about 15 minutes.
Purée soup with basil in 2 batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids). Add pepper, and serve hot. Garnish with basil leaves or basil flowers.
Adapted from Life Currents
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