By Chris & Jackie Coke
Ingredients | Comment | |
50g | Butter | Use a 3lt saucepan and get it heated before putting in the butter. Allow to melt |
600 g fresh courgette | Dice into rough cubes | You can use the larger ones, so long as they have not gone to seed. Young ones make a fresher soup |
One | Medium onion finely chopped | Fry in butter for about 4 minutes, until golden |
2 or 3 | Garlic cloves, to your taste | Toss into the butter and soften them up |
25g | Flour | Used to thicken the mixture, Jackie says I don’t use enough |
600 ml | Chicken Stock | Use Knorr Stockpot, just as good.- but if you have the real thing it is healthier, less salt |
300 0ml | Milk | Added towards the end, do it slowly so that the milk does not curdle |
Seasoning | To taste with salt, pepper and a pinch of grated nutmeg | I love Tellicherry pepper (from Lidl) |
Method | ||
1 | Melt butter in saucepan. | |
2 | Add onions and garlic, allow to get golden brown | |
3 | Add chopped up courgette. Fry gently for about 5 minutes. The courgettes need to be well mixed with the onion. | |
4 | Stir in the flour and cook together for about a minute or so. | Stirring is important otherwise the onion may get black and stick to the pan. |
5 | Remove from heat, and gradually stir in the stock. Bring to the boil slowly and continue to cook, stirring until the mixture thickens | I have never been sure what it looks like thickened, but it usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes |
6 | Carefully blend in the milk and bring back to the boil, keep stirring. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. | |
7 | Add in seasoning. | I put all the seasoning together on a small china dish, like a saucer. |
8 | Allow to cool then sieve or puree in a blender until smooth. Thin with a little milk if necessary. | I have never tried to sieve. If you do it will remove a lot of the natural fibre. |
9 | For a party pour into a warmed soup tureen and swirl in a little cream just before serving | It makes about 900 ml, good enough for 6 servings. Otherwise store in a suitable container. Can be frozen in a deep freeze. |
All toxic dairy products can be substituted with their non-dairy alternative – soya milk, margarine and so on