Zucchini Soup

I cannot even count how many zucchini soup recipes I have tried in my life. The results were never satisfactory. Most of recipes turned out bland, tasteless and watery. Other called for strong spices and other ingredients which made the zucchini flavor almost unpalatable. I was already losing hope that soup made of zucchini (which is one of my favorite vegetables, by the way) might taste good at all.

Today’s recipe comes from Cuisine Gourmande magazine (the same one from which I made Zucchini and Pesto Lasagna a while ago). Disappointed with all the zucchini soup recipes I had tried before, I didn’t expect much from this one either. The addition of curry powder didn’t seem like a good idea for me; too spicy, I thought. Still, I decided to give it a try. The result really surprised me. The soup came out delicious, with wonderful creamy consistency and perfectly balanced flavors. There’s nothing I would add or remove from it. The recipe is just perfect. The delicate flavor of coconut milk goes perfectly with the mild zucchini taste. Also using curry powder turned out to be a good idea, thanks to its spicy flavor, the soup doesn’t taste bland. I loved the idea of topping the soup with slices of zucchini (they were raw in the original recipe, I cooked them slightly with olive oil), their crunchy texture gives a nice contrast to the creamy consistency of the soup. Delicious!!!

Indian Zucchini Soup

Serves 4

800 g zucchini
½ lemon
2 small onions
1 clove of garlic, crushed
3 teaspoons curry powder
200 ml coconut milk
500 ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Dice the onion.
2. Wash and dry all the zucchini (do not peel them). Reserve one nice small zucchini, dice the remaining ones.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and sauté for two minutes. Stir in curry powder.
4. Add garlic and zucchini. Pour in coconut milk and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, slice the reserved zucchini. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a separate pan, add the zucchini and sauté for one to two minutes.
6. Puree the soup with a hand blender. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
7. Serve individual bowls topped with slices of zucchini and a pinch of curry powder.

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Recipe in Polish:
Indyjska zupa z cukinii

Zucchini and Pesto Lasagna

Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables. Light, crunchy with a delicate aroma and flavor, it works well in almost any kind of dish. I really like to have zucchini with pasta. So, when I saw a recipe for zucchini and pesto lasagna in Cuisine Gourmande magazine, I just had to try it. The lasagna came out really delicious, light, fresh, aromatic, perfect for dinner on a warm day.

The recipe calls for pesto sauce, you can use either store bought pesto, or, like me, prepare it yourself (see the recipe for homemade pesto below). If the pine nuts are hard to obtain or too expensive, you can always replace them with sunflower seeds. If you decide to use dry lasagna noodles in place of fresh ones, cook them first in a slightly salted water.

Zuchinni and Pesto Lasagna

1 kg zucchini, cut into thin slices
9 fresh lasagna noodles
250 ml light cream
3 teaspoon pesto genovese*
1 ball (125 g) mozzarella cheese, sliced
40 g Parmesan cheese, grated
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

1. In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini and garlic and cook for about 5 min. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place the cream into a small pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low; simmer 3 min. Remove from the heat, stir in pesto and half of the Parmesan cheese. Season with pepper.
3. Preheat the oven to 410°F (210 °C)
4.Spoon 1/3 of the cream, pesto and Parmesan mixture in prepared baking dish, top with three lasagna noodles, then arrange 1/3 of the zucchini slices. Repeat twice with the remaining cream, pesto and Parmesan mixture, lasagna noodles and zucchini finishing with zucchini. Top with slices of mozzarella, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
5.Bake the lasagna for about 20-30 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender and the cheese is melted.

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*Pesto Genovese

Makes about 125 ml

25 g pine nuts
35 g basil leaves
1 large clove of garlic
25 g Parmesan cheese, grated
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Toast the pine nuts in a small pan, leave to cool.
2. Wash and dry basil leaves.
3. Place the pine nuts, basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese in a blender. Blend slowly pouring the olive oil.
4. Season with salt and pepper.

Store covered in a fridge up to five days.

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Recipe in Polish:
Lazania z cukinią i sosem pesto