Zucchini Soup - with a KICK!

With the dreary, bleary, and downright miserable weather most of the country has been getting (including lovely Chapel Hill), I've been inspired by all foods warm!  My latest kick has been soups - whether it's buying the homemade soups at The Fresh Market for lunch or making my own, I've been getting my fill of soups lately.

Soup at home - a la Mom!

I was home in NYC 2 weeks ago on a work/play trip.  I had dinner at home with my family that Sunday before I flew back down South and requested a homemade dinner; when asked what specifically I wanted, I replied "anything delicious."  We ended up enjoying a perfectly cooked sirloin by my dad with some roasted root veggies; but the HIT of the dinner (for me, at least) was the Zucchini Soup my mom made!


I inhaled 2 bowls before I even started on my steak and immediately requested the recipe.  Turns out - it's the easiest soup EVER!  Dinner will be ready in 25 minutes and only a little clean up!  PERFECT!

ZUCCHINI SOUP

(Adapted from Fran's Recipe)

A little footnote on this recipe: I used absolutely no measurements and did a major trial-and-error experiment with this recipe.  Luckily, it was a success.  Sadly, I can't share exact measurements with you.  This is just one of those recipes you need to wing it, taste it, and add more of whatever you think it needs.  I promise it's pretty hard to mess up!

Cut the zucchini in large chunks
(since you'll puree it later)

Ingredients:

4 large zucchini

1 large white onion, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp butter

Chicken stock (light or low sodium)

Coriander

Curry powder

Cayenne pepper

EVOO

Salt

Pepper

Preparation:

- Saute chunks of zucchini and onion in butter and oil over medium-high heat until the zucchini begins to soften.

Saute the zucchini with onions, oil, & butter until soft.

- Add enough chicken stock to cover the veggies and cook until they're fully softened.

- Use a food processor, stick blender (the coolest kitchen gadget), or a blender to puree (I used a blender).

- Add some coriander and puree until smooth.

- Flavor with salt, curry powder, and cayenne pepper to taste.  

Besides being easy, this soup is incredibly versatile.  It can be served hot (I prefer this), room temperature, or chilled.  And you can mix up the veggies used--try asparagus, broccoli, spinach, green beans, or whatever green veggies you have.  I used only zucchini on this first attempt, but next time I'll try some others.  

Our little mishap... We used a blender and the lid didn't
exactly work too well... SOUP EVERYWHERE! Ha

We ended up not having cayenne pepper (although I could've sworn we did) and we chose to leave out the coriander; we really only added the curry powder, salt, and pepper.  The soup ended up having a thai-like flavor with all the curry, but it was DELISH!  You really can't mess this up!

Sprinkle some scallions on top for a pretty finish!