Courgette and basil soup

I love growing courgettes.

Seeds germinate easily and plants grow quickly.

Or if you buy a few plants they will reward you endlessly.

They aren't too picky but they need space, lots of water

and an occasional feed helps them along.

The more you pick, the more they produce.

You should be harvesting over two months if the plants are happy.

They may suffer a little mildew but simply remove the affected leaves.

These are 'green bush' and a yellow variety whose name I can't recall.

This soup came about as a result of a glut after a few days away.

Sweated courgettes become very creamy when broken down.

So no thickener was required.

Basil was added as a seasonal addition and works beautifully.

Courgette and basil soup

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 tbsp olive oil

4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped

20g basil, stems finely chopped, leaves reserved

1 kg courgettes diced roughly 1-2 cm pieces

500ml hot veg stock

200ml milk (you may not need all of this especially if you have large, wet courgettes)

Heat the oil, add the onion and sweat with the lid on until nearly transparent. Don't let the onion brown, regulate the heat as necessary (approximately 12 mins)

Add the garlic and basil stems, sweat together for further 2 mins
Add courgettes to the pan with a good pinch of salt, coat with onion mix, lid on, cook on a medium/high heat for 5 mins stirring every few minutes, again without browning. * If you have used large courgettes they may release a lot of liquid so keep the lid off. You want to saute the courgettes rather than sweat them at this stage
Pour on the stock, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer until the courgettes are tender. This won't take very long ... Do not over cook
Remove from the heat, add the basil leaves (whole is fine) stir through to wilt

Then immediately blitz with a stick blender or in a food processor etc until smooth (this keeps a fresher green colour)
Add enough milk until required consistency (you may need more/less depending on the liquid content of the courgettes) and blitz briefly to combine
Season to taste and return to a low heat if eating straight away and heat through gently

The soup keeps for a few days in the fridge and freezes well.

However due to the milk do not let it boil or it may curdle slightly.

If you fancy a chunk of fresh bread with check out
Easy peasy focaccia

I'm really hoping to make this once more before the courgette season ends.

However if I don't have enough for a soup

there's always cake!

Enjoy!

In my kitchen