Zucchini Soup 4.20 Luke Can See Her Face

“We have to serve your critically acclaimed zucchini soup for the opening.” “I know, but Jackson has some concerns about the zucchini crop, so I want to have a backup.” “No, Sookie. We've got to serve the zucchini soup. People are expecting it. The zucchini have got to be there.”

Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, finely chopped

• ¼ cup onion, diced

• ½ cup granny smith apple, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 4-5 zucchini, cut in half, then thinly sliced

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp pepper

• ½ tsp ground mustard

• ½ tsp dried basil

• ¼ tsp cayenne

• 4 cups veggie broth

• ⅓ cup parmesan cheese

• ½ cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Heat a tsp olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add shallot, onion, apple, and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes or until soft and fragrant.

2. Add the zucchini. Saute for an additional 5 minutes or until the zucchini becomes soft and golden brown.

3. Add the spices: salt, pepper, mustard, basil, and cayenne. Stir to fully coat the vegetables.

4. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

5. Add the cheese and stir to melt. Remove from heat. Either using an immersion blender or moving the soup to a blender, blend until completely smooth. If using a blender, return the soup back to the pot.

6. Carefully add the cream and stir until combined.

7. Top with additional zucchini spirals if you wish!

That's a lot of zucchini!

I’m not kidding when I say this soup has become one of my favorites! It’s full of flavor, and it’s thick and creamy. I’m a little bummed that I didn’t test it out until it was towards the end of our cold weather here in Texas. But it’s just so good that I might make it year-round! Any time I make soup for this project, I talk about how much I love soup. And, I just think it’s such an underrated food. Now, would I sleep in a zucchini patch to make this soup? No, but I’m also a very sensitive sleeper, so you might think it’s worth it.

Always season your soups well!

You may be wondering why I added an apple to this soup. I first started experimenting with adding apples to my soups back when I made the butternut squash soup for the Bracebridge Dinner. They add a beautiful sweetness to the soup and granny smiths in particular add an extra bit of tang. Normally, I’d recommend peeling your apples for use in a soup, but since this soup is green, I left the apple peel on to amp up the green color. If you want to make this soup vegan, you can simply swap the heavy cream for coconut milk or oat milk and either leave out the cheese or use a vegan cheese of your choice!

Happy cooking from the Hollow!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!

This soup is worth sleeping with the zucchini for!