Making a soup is definitely not difficult, especially a veggie one. I’ve made variations on this recipe before, usually making it up as I go along – because how difficult can a soup made of courgettes and tomatoes be? But I decided this time, I wanted something a little bit different, as all of the veggies had come from our garden. Grown from seed. So, this time, I wanted a soup to remember. And, boy, did I find one! It’s still super easy to make, but it packs a punch in flavour terms, as it also includes spicy paprika and a generous sprinkling of chilli flakes. As autumn approaches, and as your garden may have a glut of zucchini and tomatoes, this is definitely a recipe I’d add to your warming and wholesome collection…

INGREDIENTS

• Tomatoes – ideally ripe tomatoes on the vine for the best flavour. I used a mix of larger beef tomatoes and smaller cherry tomatoes from the garden.
• Courgettes – for this recipe I used one courgette – the one above – and it was definitely sufficient
• Olive Oil – a nice big splash, to start cooking the courgettes
• Large White Onion – red would work as well, I think, but I wanted a bit more depth of flavour
• Plain Flour – a large, heaped tablespoon was used to thicken the soup
• Veggie Stock – two cubes were more than enough, in about a litre of water, which I topped up as & when necessary, as the soup was cooking
• Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped – dried basil would also work, but fresh was delicious
• Spicy Paprika and/or Chilli Flakes – depends on how much of a kick of you want your soup to have. We like spice, so used both.
• Tomato puree – a generous squeeze, for extra colour and richness of flavour
• Salt & Pepper – according to your taste

METHOD

It really is a chuck-it-all-in-the-pot and let it do itself recipe. I heated the chopped onion and courgettes in the olive oil for about 10 minutes, sprinkling with plenty of salt and pepper. Once soft, I added the paprika and chilli flakes, then the chopped tomatoes and mixed in the plain flour, cooking for a further 10 minutes. The stock was added along with the basil leaves – leaving a few unchopped for garnish – and the tomato puree and simmered for about 40 minutes. The soup was whizzed up until smooth, given another 10 minutes on the hob, and then served with warm, crusty, granary bread. And, there ware more than enough for lunch next day…

Just need to now decide what to do with the beautiful courgette flowers, which are very abundant…

Recipe originally found here.