Soups & Salads
Chilled Zucchini Soup with Purslane
Description
Alain Coumont's cool vegan soup gets its creaminess from pureed zucchini, sautéed onion and garlic. It's brightened with purslane, a lemony weed that Coumont plucks from his Languedoc country garden; if purslane is not available at your local farmers' market, substitute baby arugula leaves instead.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 small zucchini (3 pounds), thinly sliced, plus long zucchini shavings for garnish
- Kosher salt
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons finely shredded basil
- 2 cups ice
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups purslane or baby arugula
Directions
- In a large saucepan, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in the thyme and bay leaf and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sliced zucchini, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the shredded basil.
- Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until very smooth. Transfer the zucchini puree to a large bowl. Stir in the ice. Refrigerate the zucchini soup for at least 3 hours, until thoroughly chilled.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper. Ladle into shallow bowls and top with a small handful of purslane and zucchini shavings. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
