The Barefoot Contessa's Zucchini Basil Soup!
Today I made Ina Garten's Zucchini Basil soup from her new book, Make it Ahead. I actually dragged 4 friends to see Ina speak last week in Cupertino, and she was very inspirational, but for $100 we wanted to EAT some food, not just listen to her talk about food. So I decided to break in the book with this recipe for a cozy Sunday night with Michael. He loved it, although he asked me politely if he could add siracha. So here is the recipe, courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil or less
1 large onion, chopped
2 T minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
3 pounds unpealed zucchini (about 4 large), chopped in 3/4 inch chunks
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/8 t crushed red pepper flakes
t salt
t freshly ground black pepper
1 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock (I use Better Than Boullion)
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup greek yogurt (non-fat or regular, but make sure its plain)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot and add onions. Stir for a few minutes until they are translucent but not brown, then stir in the garlic for one minute. Add the zucchini, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper, and stir for another 10 minutes until the zucchini becomes soft around the edges. Add the wine, stock, basil, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ina then suggests you churn the soup through a food mill, but I don't have one, so I used the pulse-puree setting on my blender for about 10 seconds, blending the soup in sections, ensuring the balance of liquid and solid in each batch. I like soup a little chunky, but you can puree it as much or as little as you'd like. This would make an excellent meal for babies in a very blended form, too! Once you have the right consistency, but all the soup back in your pot (simmer again if it has cooled a lot, but then turn it off), stir in the greek yogurt and most of the parmesan cheese. Serve with more freshly ground black pepper and fresh parmesan cheese in each bowl, and siracha if thats what your man loves :)
Today I made Ina Garten's Zucchini Basil soup from her new book, Make it Ahead. I actually dragged 4 friends to see Ina speak last week in Cupertino, and she was very inspirational, but for $100 we wanted to EAT some food, not just listen to her talk about food. So I decided to break in the book with this recipe for a cozy Sunday night with Michael. He loved it, although he asked me politely if he could add siracha. So here is the recipe, courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil or less
1 large onion, chopped
2 T minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
3 pounds unpealed zucchini (about 4 large), chopped in 3/4 inch chunks
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/8 t crushed red pepper flakes
t salt
t freshly ground black pepper
1 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock (I use Better Than Boullion)
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup greek yogurt (non-fat or regular, but make sure its plain)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot and add onions. Stir for a few minutes until they are translucent but not brown, then stir in the garlic for one minute. Add the zucchini, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper, and stir for another 10 minutes until the zucchini becomes soft around the edges. Add the wine, stock, basil, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ina then suggests you churn the soup through a food mill, but I don't have one, so I used the pulse-puree setting on my blender for about 10 seconds, blending the soup in sections, ensuring the balance of liquid and solid in each batch. I like soup a little chunky, but you can puree it as much or as little as you'd like. This would make an excellent meal for babies in a very blended form, too! Once you have the right consistency, but all the soup back in your pot (simmer again if it has cooled a lot, but then turn it off), stir in the greek yogurt and most of the parmesan cheese. Serve with more freshly ground black pepper and fresh parmesan cheese in each bowl, and siracha if thats what your man loves :)
the yogurt curdled
ReplyDeleteThis soup is delicious! I left out the white wine because I didn't have any. I just added an extra cup of stock. I was surprised how flavorful it came out!
ReplyDelete