Zucchini and Basil Soup

This green and fragrant zucchini and basil soup recipe is one of my go-to suppers. It's bursting with healthy fibre, vitamins, and minerals. If you have chicken broth (stock) or vegetable broth in your freezer then this zucchini and basil soup can be ready in a flash. Choose smaller marrows for a sweeter and more delicate flavour.

I think this is the best zucchini soup recipe ever. I think I can safely say that zucchini are my favourite vegetable, because of their delicate taste and sponge-like quality the humble zucchini can become a vehicle for a myriad many flavours, even one as delicate a basil in this soup.

Courgettes or Zucchini?

Courgettes and Zucchini are basically the same things. Both words mean a small marrow or gourd; courgettes in French and zucchine in Italian. Italian immigrants popularised the vegetable in the United States and so the name zucchini stuck. On the other hand, people in the UK used to largely associate the vegetable with France; their nearest Continental neighbour and so they are still known as courgettes in the UK.

Real Broth Benefits

This zucchini and basil soup works well with vegetable stock to become a wonderful vegan courgette soup recipe. These days you can get pre-prepared broths just don’t use one of those nasty chemical-laden cubes.

I always recommend making soup with real stock for the best flavour and optimal health benefits. It is really quite easy to make real chicken stock a.k.a. chicken bone broth (same thing different names) from scratch and freeze it in batches. Don’t be intimidated!

The health benefits of cooking with real chicken bone broth with its concentrated minerals and collagen are huge for everything from anti-aging to childhood development. Here’s how to make my super collagen-boosting chicken bone broth.

Courgette and Basil Soup

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4-6 zucchini or courgettes, chopped

• 500ml (2 cups) vegetable or chicken stock

• 1 shallot, finely chopped

• Large bunch of basil, plus some to garnish

• Olive oil

• A squeeze of lemon

• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Gently fry the shallot in a pot with a lug of olive oil.

2. Add the chopped courgettes, season, and cover leaving for 3 minutes.

3. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil briefly.

4. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Blitz with a handheld mixer, add the basil leaves, and blitz again until smooth. Season to taste.

6. Serve immediately anointed with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and garnished with the remaining basil leaves.