In the summer heat, those darn zucchini can grow inches in a single day, leaving us with a ginormous elongated vegetable. What to do with it? Cooks and chefs create all sorts of dishes, from involtini, to zucchini boats, and zucchini bread. The smaller and younger summer squashes are great for roasting and adding to pasta sauces (think Stanley Tucci’s Spaghetti alla Nerano).
I bring you yet another possibility for this summer’s bounty of zucchini and other summer squashes: Zucchini Soup made with just a few simple ingredients all perfectly in season: zucchini, tomato, basil, Italian parsely, onions, and garlic. I found some delectable pearl onions at Tierra Vegetables that added a light and sweet flavor to the soup.
With so many types of summer squash, you have free reign to use what is available and what appeals to the senses. I used Romanesco, which is a more hearty version of zucchini. You may use more tender varieties such as crookneck or pattipan (the round, star-shaped), or Tatuma (the pale green Mexican heirloom squash). When using the more tender version, the soup will need less time to cook as we want the squash to retain some of its shape and firmness. Adjust your cooking times to keep the squash from getting mushy. All of this is a plus because it takes very little time to make this light and delicious soup.
I fell in love with this soup as it was one of my Nana’s favorites. She made this soup often and sometimes added a diced potato to the broth as a thickener.
Serve this soup with a hunk of oily focaccia, toasted sourdough, or any bread suitable for dunking.
Zucchini Summer Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 red onion or spring onions
- 1 lb. zucchini, summer squash, or Romanesco, chopped
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1/2 cup Italian parsely, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 3 cups vegetable broth or water
- salt to taste
- 4 ounces dried pasta (1 cup) digitini, gomiti, or small-shaped pasta
Instructions
- In a soup pot, saute garlic and onion in olive oil for 2-3 minutes until onions soften. Add the zucchini, tomato, fresh herbs, and stir in 1 tsp. salt. Stir and let saute, uncovered, 5 minutes. This will create a rich soup base.
- Add the broth or water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes until zucchini is just soft. Test often to achieve the desired consistenty. Optional: Using an immersion blender, blend the soup just enough so that there are still chunks of zucchini. By blending briefly, the broth will become richer and a bit thicker.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Be sure to add at least 2 tsp. salt to the boiling pasta water before adding the dried pasta. Drain cooked pasta and add to the soup and stir in. Remove from heat. Serve hot or at room temperature. Garnish with freshly chopped onion greens or fresh parsley.Store in the fridge for up to 1 week and freeze for a month.
Absolutely delicious and easy to make. Your ingredients are quite simple that people usually have at home.