Farmer's Fresh Summer Zucchini and Herb soup

(picture of soup coming soon, camera acting up again- enjoy the basil)

It is official summer in New York City, for any one that was doubting otherwise! It has been in the 90's and the humidity feels like water just floating in the air. This weather has actually made me kind of lose my appetite. So all day I find myself running around (letting me blood sugar get too low) and then I get home at night and I am starving! This soup is nice and light and hopefully something you can have in the middle of the day. It was inspired by Halfdan, but I have made it summer-y by cooling down, so it has a gazpacho feel (which by the way is my new task to perfect). It is farmer's fresh because all the ingredients can be found at the farmer's market (bar the lemon if are not in California, the Med or North Africa ;)

I have been doing almost all of Pete and my shopping at the Farmer's Market and like Charlotte described in her last post, it totally changes the way you shop (umm, brings some joy into it instead of crowded lines and dread) and it makes you invent your own dishes because frankly you cannot go there knowing you will find everything you need. You have got to roll with the seasons and the produce. People freak out at this prospect, but trust me; take a deep breath, and just shop. You'll never know the wonderful things you could make without a recipe until you try.

This is a rough (estimated recipe), you know I do not like to be too strict about amounts anyway...

Farmer's Fresh Summer Zucchini and Herb Soup

serves plenty: probably 8 comfortably
cooking time: one hour + and chilling time

Ingredients

4 oversized zucchini or 6 medium to smaller ones (give or take)
1 white onion
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic
peperoncino flakes
1 organic vegetable broth cube or homemade vegetable stock
a huge bunch of fresh basil
a huge bunch of fresh Italian parsley
lemon and and sea salt to garnish

* Need a hand-held blender

** Also I think it would fun to experiment with other summer squashes, like yellow.

Procedure

In a nice sturdy (cast iron- Le Crueset I prefer) pot cook down the chopped onion and garlic cloves until they are soft, translucent and golden (approximately 20 minutes). I added the pinch of peperoncino with the onions and garlic, so that the heat cooked off a bit. If you do not prefer any spice just leave it out. Remember it's your recipe.

Then add the chopped zucchini (you can chop them roughly because they will be blended). Salt and pepper the zucchini and then put the lid on the pot. This cooks the zucchini down a bit faster. They will take approximately 30 minutes to cook all the way through. You want them a little golden and not too mushy, so remember to take the cover off and mix them up occasionally.

When you believe they are done, add the vegetable stock and a few cups off water. Blend the mixture up, check the consistency to your liking before you add any more liquid. Wither add more liquid or not depending on preference. Then add chopped herbs. Blend again. Refrigerate to cool ( or have it hot).

Garnish with lemon and sea salt before serving.

Enjoy, of course!

peace and love
JM