|
| ITALIAN
SOUP MINESTRA DI ZUCCINI |
RECIPE
BY TALLYRAND |
 |
Cooking
Italian . . . . .
 I
said in my last column, two weeks ago, I am going to
share some of my favourite Italian dishes with you over
the next few weeks. Talk about unusual ingredients all
you like, boast about complicated dishes if you will,
chat about the latest foodie craze at your peril . .
. for me there is no substitute for good solid, ingredients
well prepared into the simplest of dishes. For me no
one does that better than the Italians . . . well okay
maybe the Chinese and Japanese are well up there too,
but lets not split hairs.
For
other Italian recipes I have covered:
Italy
is where I learnt how to make 'instant soups',
but not of the packet variety I hasten to add. If you
have a blender or food processor this soup should take
not much longer to prepare and cook than the time it
takes to heat a tinned or packet soup and of course
you are guaranteed freshness.
Like
me there will be times when you have needed to knock
up a quick soup. Well unlike the classical French recipes
that have endless amounts of unnecessary ingredients,
prolonged cooking times and intricate methods, the Italians
have long been making quick and easy soups. With its
fresh ingredients and short cooking time, these are
not only very nutritious but also possess a wonderful
freshness of flavour.
I
am using courgettes, but it works equally well with
marrow or cucumber also. But why limit yourself there?
Apply the same preparation and cooking method as below
and throw away all those prolonged cooking time soup
recipes and make them the fresh way . . . you might
just need to cook the soup a little longer for root
vegetables like carrots or blanch and refresh leaf vegetables
like spinach first.
MINESTRA
DI ZUCCINI RECIPE
Ingredients
| courgettes |
500
|
gm |
| olive
oil |
50
|
ml |
| flour |
25
|
gm |
| chicken
or vegetable stock |
1
1/2
|
ltr |
| basil
- fresh and finely chopped |
1
|
tbs |
| mint
- fresh and finely chopped |
1
|
tbs |
| cream |
75
|
ml |
Method
- Rinse
the courgettes, top and tail if required and cut into
small pieces
- Place
in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped
(complete in two or three lots depending on the size
of the processor)
- Lightly
heat the oil in a saucepan, add the courgette and
gently cook until lightly softened but not browned
and oil has been absorbed (approx. 2 - 3 minutes)
- Sprinkle
in the flour and stir through. This small amount of
flour is to allow the oil to be absorbed more and
lightly thicken the soup, it may be omitted if you
wish
- Add
the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 - 10
minutes
- Stir
in the basil and mint
- Stir
through the cream, allow to boil once more
- Pour
into bowls and serve with grated / shaved cheese on
top: cheddar, parmesan, pecorino, etc.
Enjoy
and bon appetit . . . . .
|
Chef's
terminology:
|
| |
lt |
=
|
litres |
|
tsp |
= |
teaspoon |
| |
ml |
=
|
millelitres |
|
tbs |
= |
tablespoon |
| |
kg |
=
|
kilograms |
|
sq |
= |
sufficient
quantity (add to taste) |
| |
gm |
=
|
grams |
|
pc |
= |
piece,
meaning a whole one of |
|
Recipe
from professional
Chef Tallyrand
Email
Hub-UK : info@hub-uk.com
|
