Chilled Zucchini Soup with Crispy Capers
This beautful pale green soup is light, creamy and perfectly refreshing on a hot day. Bright, crispy bursts of fried capers add texture and a lovely depth of flavor.
The prep time for this soup is short... the oven does the heavy lifting by braising the vegetables and infusing them with the flavors of lemon, white wine and capers.
You can make this a day or two in advance if you like, just wait until the day you serve it to fry the capers (see notes below the recipe).
This soup can be thinned using vegetable stock, so if you like a thinner soup this recipe will make more than the 6 cups listed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked, rinsed and drained (see notes)
- 1 small head of celery, trimmed and quartered
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 2 cups zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 2-3 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- zest from 1 lemon, peeled in long strips
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 Tablespoons capers, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and additional lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- In small bowl, cover cashews with just boiled water. Soak for 30 minutes, then drain and rinse.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place celery (cut side up) and broccoli florets in baking dish. Pour 1 Cup of the stock, 1/4 cup olive oil, the white wine and the lemon juice over the vegetables. Scatter the lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves, and 2 Tablespoons of the capers over the top. Sprinkle with a large pinch of sea salt and a few grindings of fresh black pepper. Cover tightly with foil and bake until the celery is fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the lemon zest and bay leaves, then transfer the vegetables, liquid and capers to a blender.
- While the celery and broccoli cook, drain the remaining 2 Tablespoons of capers and blot dry with a paper towel. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the capers and fry, stirring a few times, until they begin to crisp and pop (about 1-2 minutes). Remove to a paper towel to drain, keeping the oil in the skillet. Leave the capers uncovered, at room temperature, as the soup chills (this keeps them crispy).
- Add the zucchini and onions to the skillet and saute until tender and beginning to brown (10-15 minutes). Transfer to the blender with the other vegetables.
- Add the soaked cashews to the blender along with 1 cup of stock, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper. Puree until smooth. If you prefer a thinner soup, add stock and blend until you have the consistency you like. Transfer to a glass container and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours and up to 2 days.
- Once the soup has chilled, taste it and adjust the seasonings. You will typically need more seasonings in a chilled soup, so add salt, pepper and lemon juice until you are happy with it.
- Sprinkle the crispy capers over the top just before serving.
Notes
If you are making this soup a day or two before serving it, use 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to saute the zucchini and onions. On the day of serving, use another Tablespoon of olive oil to fry the capers.
The leftover oil from the fried capers can be saved and used to saute vegetables for another dish, as it has great flavor.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 146Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1096mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed.
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