The weather has cooled off here in Wisconsin(finally) and that means that the garden is coming into its own.
I am waiting for the 2 kinds of tomatoes that we are growing to all ripen at the same time so that I can make gallons of marinara, but have been collecting cucumber and zucchini in massive quantities. Sooooooo…
I have been scouring the internet for recipes that are “different and unique”, to me anyway. I have a few keepers, little diamonds in the ruff that turn these veggies into amazing foodstuff, so roll up your sleeves, go harvest your garden and let’s get busy.
Usually, it is the custom to save the best for last but I just can't wait to tell you about this zucchini soup. This is a fantastic soup! It is creamy, savory and so satisfying that it is irresistible. Did I mention that it is also freakishly easy to make? Well, it is. It is as simple as chop, saute, puree and heat. 4 cups of zucchini are chopped into medium size chunks and sauteed in a little butter till it is soft. I sauteed it in a sauce pan so that I could use it again later. Next it goes into a food processor or blender to be pureed. In the pan that you used to saute the zucchini you are going to saute one medium onion till translucent. Next add one teaspoon of chicken base to the onions. I use a dry base and add just a small amount of water to moisten it before I add it to the onions. Now there are two ways to deal with the next step...
1. You can add the onions to the food processor with the zucchini and puree it all so that the soup is smooth.
2. You can add the zucchini to the onions without pureeing it first and you will have more texture in your soup.
I chose option #1, thinking that it would spread the onion flavor throughout the soup more than if I didn't puree it. Now that everyone is together in the pot add 1/4 cup of half and half and thin the soup with chicken broth to the consistency you like. Simmer for 10-15 minutes and serve.
Next we have a zucchini recipe that sounded very weird to me but it is wonderful. Lets talk about zucchini butter.
This is another super simple recipe. It has all of 3 ingredients but the final product goes far beyond the sum of its parts. Using about 4 tablespoons butter, saute finely minced shallots and a clove of garlic. Then add in 3 cups of shredded zucchini and cook till it is really soft. Voila! Zucchini Butter!
There are hundreds of zucchini recipes to be found on the internet and this is just two of them. As the garden produces bushels of veggies, coming up with interesting ways to use them will continue to be a fun summer challenge. Be adventurous!
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