A year ago I posted a recipe for Courgette & Almond Soup that’s had quite a few hits. It was delicious…..however, I’ve improved the recipe. I’ve made this a few times recently with small, young courgettes from both the tunnel and outside. It’s a richer affair and would be a perfect starter in an elegant, shallow bowl served at a summer dinner party. It could in fact be called courgette, white onion & almond soup since the flavour of new season onions makes a huge difference to this recipe. I’m talking about onions that haven’t developed a crispy russet skin in storage, but still have a soft cover and taste really sweet after sweating in butter. I’ve seen some for sale in bunches in the local veg shop. The amazing thing about this creamy soup is that it can be made completely vegan if you substitute a vegan cooking margarine or olive oil for the butter. Try to get small courgettes that haven’t travelled too far and only make this soup in summer – it really shows off the youth and freshness of the courgette at this time of year.
Even Better Courgette & Almond Soup
For 4
2 tbsp butter
2 medium white onions
2 cloves garlic
8 small courgettes
4 tbsp ground almonds
800ml – 1 L very light vegetable or chicken stock
salt & pepper
Heat the butter in a saucepan to melt. Chop the onions roughly and add them to the butter. Sprinkle with sea salt, cover with a lid and leave to sweat over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the onions are lovely and soft add the garlic – finely chopped and the courgettes – chopped into even pieces. Cook for 5 minutes with the lid off. Sprinkle with a little more sea salt and add the light stock – enough to cover the vegetables. Bring to the boil and simmer until the courgettes are just tender – 10 minutes or so. Be careful not to overcook so that none of the vibrant green colour is lost. At this stage stir in the ground almonds and remove the pot from the heat. Blitz the soup to a puree – taste and season with salt and pepper. If it’s too thick add a little more stock. If it doesn’t seem creamy enough, try adding a little more ground almonds. Heat gently to serve.