Chef it up, yo!

This soup was fantastic! I made this with my mom a few Sundays ago and we loved it.  She had found the recipe in her Italian cookbook and was intrigued.

**Couple of things**  We used Gorgonzola instead of the Dolcelatte cheese (never heard of it until now – it means “sweet milk” in Italian).  Also went with chicken stock over the vegetable stock.  I was very happy that I was able to use my commercial Waring immersion blender…oh, and I didn’t bother to press it through a sieve.  Turned out great.  I will try to post pictures soon…

Cream of Zucchini Soup

Serves 4 – 6

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 lbs. zucchini, trimmed and sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
about 2 ½ cups of vegetable or chicken stock
4 oz. mild blue cheese (such as Dolcelatte), rind removed, diced (Gorgonzola may be substituted)
1 ¼ cups light cream or half and half
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh oregano and extra cheese, to garnish

1. Heat oil and butter in large saucepan until foaming. Add the onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes; stir frequently, until softened but not brown.

2. Add the zucchini and oregano, with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Pour the stock in and bring to a boil, stirring. Lower the heat, half cover the pan and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, stir in the diced Dolcelatte until melted.

4. Process the soup with an immersion blender (or food processor or stand blender) until smooth, then press through a sieve into a clean pan.

5. Add 2/3 of the cream and stir over low heat until hot, but not boiling. Check the consistency and add more stock if the soup is too thick. Taste for seasoning, then pour into heated bowls. Swirl in the remaining cream. Garnish w/ oregano and extra cheese and serve.

Cook’s Tip: To save time, trim off and discard the ends of the zucchini, cut them into thirds, then chop in a food processor fitted with the metal blade.

PDF – Cream of Zucchini Soup Recipe

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 10th, 2010 at 7:06 pm and is filed under Soups, Vegetarian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.