Chilled Zucchini Soup with Tarragon

Posted on Aug 16, 2009 by PeggyPrint Recipe Only | Email Recipe | 1 Comment
Filed under: All Recipes, Cold soups, Feed Your Wallet, Gluten Free, Vegetarian Pin It
Chilled Zucchini Soup with Tarragon

A neighbor just brought by a bag of zucchini. (Oh look, honey…more zucchini!) We’ve plans for dinner but I can whip up a zucchini soup in minutes. Soup always tastes better the second or third day anyway. Whether you’re serving soup hot or cold, it just needs that extra day for the flavors to combine. This simple soup is no exception-good the first day, great the second.

I enjoy the delicacy of the flavors of this simple soup. You can substitute onions for leeks, or add richness by substituting butter for the olive oil and garnishing with creme fraiche. I added the spinach primarily for color so fresh parsley may be substituted for that. I enjoy buttermilk in summer soups but plain yogurt is always the perfect substitute. I have some leftover aromatic stock from a chicken salad ( August 11th dinnerFeed) that should be used, but feel free to use store-bought. Fresh basil, mint, dill or basil could be used in place of the tarragon.

The zucchini I used was a gift but Michigan-grown are available this week at the Farmers Market and Meijers(@$.77#) If you have zucchini blossoms, thinly slice and garnish the soup with them. I used garden nasturtiums which have a lovely, peppery flavor and worked well as garnish and flavor enhancer.

Recipe: Chilled Zucchini Soup with Tarragon

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, washed thoroughly, then thinly sliced
  • 5 medium-sized zucchini, washed, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices( 5 cups)
  • Zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 cup loosely packed fresh-spinach
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
  • 3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Instructions

  1. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat oil to medium heat. Sauté leeks with a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes.
  2. Add zucchini, lemon zest and juice, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until zucchini is softened. Add stock and simmer an additional 6-8 minutes, stirring in spinach the last couple of minutes.
  3. Purée zucchini mixture and tarragon in a food processor or with an immersion blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids).
  4. Stir in buttermilk and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
  5. Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours before serving, and preferably overnight.

Active Time: 20 minutes

Chill Time: 2-24 hours

Number of servings (yield): 6-7 cups

Copyright © Peggy Lampman’s dinnerFeed.

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Filed under: All Recipes, Cold soups, Feed Your Wallet, Gluten Free, Vegetarian
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