Courgette and basil soup

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Soups & stews

Courgette and basil soup

Name: Courgette and basil soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4

Starter Serves 4 35 min

This fresh summer soup is a lovely way of polishing off extra courgettes. It's a good light lunch with bread and salad, and is especially excellent if you serve it with a generous dollop of tomato chutney in the middle of the bowl. Use Pecorino or any other substitute hard cheese in place of Parmesan if you are a vegetarian.

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 or 7 courgettes, diced
a handful of basil leaves
600ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
50ml cream, double or single
parsley, chopped (optional)
50g Parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

Method

Prep time: 10 min

Cooking time: 25 min

Step 1
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then fry the garlic, courgettes and basil with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes, until softened.
Step 2
Add the stock, then simmer for another 10 minutes.
Step 3
Blitz the mixture in blender or food processor, reserving some of the courgette if you want a bit of texture in the soup, then return to the pan, stirring in any chunks of courgette you have reserved.
Step 4
Gently reheat, stirring in the cream, parsley and most of the Parmesan. Season. You may want to thin the soup with some milk or stock.
Step 5
Serve with the reserved Parmesan sprinkled on top.