This idea for this soup was concocted simply because we grilled way too many vegetables for the Char Grilled Summer Vegetables over Penne Pasta meal that we whipped up over the weekend. We had a lot of summer squash, zucchini and grilled red peppers left over. There was a little grilled fennel and scallion in the mix, but not enough to make anybody stand up and notice. When I was looking at the bowl of chopped goodness, I got to thinking what I could do with it. We could easily whip up some pizza crust and make a summer veggie pizza, but the oven would have heated the house way up and I wasn’t interested in doing that. I thought about making some hummus from my Best Hummus Recipe and then spooning it over some pita. I thought I could slice the cooked vegetables thin and make a cold pizza. Unfortunately, the veggies were already chopped into pieces and they were really quite soft, so it would have been a huge effort. Idea #2 scrapped.
Instead, I settled on whipping up a soup. How to make the soup was the only question in my head. Should I make it a clear vegetable broth and add in some cannellini beans and some noodles to make a vegetable noodle soup? That sounded pretty good to me, but I didn’t think that the squash would have made it through the process and it would have come out a little stew looking, which isn’t what I was going for. I needed to make these veggies into a puree. Done and done. With a full wine glass it was time to get to work.
I knew that I would have to do something for the base, so I pulled out a Spanish onion and diced it up. Next I blanched a huge beefsteak tomato to remove the skin and chopped that roughly. I made up some garlic paste (minced garlic with a pinch of coarse sea salt, mashed together either in a mortar and pestle or on the cutting board with the edge of a knife blade) and brought in a handful of fresh thyme from the container garden. In my head, this soup was coming together quickly. I looked in the fridge and found about an inch and a half of the goat cheese log that I used in the pasta from the night before. That would make this soup really have some good depth. In the pantry I found a box of organic vegetable stock and I knew we had a winner. The soup has a lot of layers of flavor. Here’s the recipe:
Makes enough for 6 large bowls of soup
Ingredients:
2 summer squash, washed and halved lengthwise
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise
2 red peppers, cored and quartered
1/2 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut in half
3-4 whole scallions, washed
1 large beefsteak tomato
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and medium dice
4 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
10 fresh sprigs of thyme, stripped
1 box organic vegetable stock
1/4 cup goat cheese
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper
Fresh Basil, sliced chiffonade
Fire up the grill. While the grill is heating, bring some water to a boil in a pot large enough to cover the tomato you are using. While the grill and water are heating, prep the squash, zucchini, peppers, fennel and scallions. Lightly coat all in olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. When the grill is hot, place the veggies on the grill, turning every couple minutes for 6-9 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through. Remove from the grill and chop into large pieces for the soup. Set aside.
In a stock pot, heat a three count of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the onion. Sprinkle with salt. Cook the onion for 5-7 minutes, or until translucent and slightly golden. While the onion is cooking, blanch the tomato to remove the skin. Kitchen Tip: Cut an X in the bottom of the tomato prior to placing in the water. It allows the skin to be removed more easily. Take the tomato out of the water after 20 seconds. Remove the skin carefully as it will be hot. Core the tomato and chop into large pieces. Add the chopped tomato and minced garlic to the onions and sprinkle with salt. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the grilled vegetables to the onion mixture. Add the vegetable stock and thyme. Bring the soup to a boil. Once the soup has boiled, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally. Check the soup for seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup for 5-7 minutes or until the soup has reached a fine puree stage. Add in the goat cheese in chunks and puree again. Taste and adjust seasoning again. Let the soup sit for about 30 minutes prior to serving to allow the flavors to develop further.
Ladle into bowls and top with a pinch of the basil. I think that a dollop of crème fraiche would be perfect in the center of this soup with the basil on top. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any nor did we have any sour cream. Nonetheless, the soup was fantastic and all takers went for seconds. I served this with some toasted, thick cut whole wheat bread with some butter. The soup with the bread was a real winner. The next day Caroline enjoyed the leftovers with a grilled cheese which paired perfectly. This soup is versatile enough to serve as a starter or as the main meal. It really feels great to take advantage of the summer’s harvest with the last couple recipes that I have posted up. Tomorrow I am headed back to the farm stand to get some more. That vegetarian hummus pizza that I was thinking of making really sounds delicious to me. Maybe it’ll be up here in the next couple days. In the meantime, enjoy this soup. I know you and your family will love it.
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