Chilled Zucchini Soup - Dairy Foods

I had no plans on Saturday other than spending time with my hubby so I decided to try a couple new recipes. I bought a ton of zucchini at the Mpls Farmer's Market last Thursday and I found a chilled zucchini soup recipe from a recent issue of Food and Wine magazine that looked really good.

The recipe was pretty simple, and super light (no heavy cream). The soup was good (not amazing, but good), and if I were to make it again I would probably add more basil and salt. It was a really beautiful soup and had awesome texture (though I ignored my husband when he said it felt like Malt-O-Meal).

The recipe didn't call for this, but I added a small dollup of sour cream with some parmesan.

Chilled Zucchini Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliceed
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

Preparation

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 inn 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 shalolow bowls and top with a small handful of purslane (or arugula) and zucchini shavings. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.