Zucchini Glut - Making Soup

The zucchinis are absolutely out of control. You gardeners know exactly what I mean...

you turn your back for one day and they go from mild mannered glossy green vegetable to near matt black bazooka!

Nearly everyone is in the same boat. Foolhardy first-time gardeners have put in more than one plant and discovered their folly too late.

Offering the excess is hit and miss as neighbours and friends see you coming and dodge you like you're trying to persuade them into pyramid selling.

Everyone is making zucchini slice and bread and butter pickles like there is no tomorrow.

My favourite solution is to make soup and then freeze it for a time when this marrow madness is a distant memory.

Something amazing happens to zucchini when you simmer it and puree. It turns creamy and velvety rich.

It is super-fast.

Chop zucchini and a couple of onions and sweat off a bit in some butter. Cover only just with stock and simmer. Once tender in just a few moments, whizz it up with your stick blender and watch it whirlpool into a luscious green velvet. Done!

People often ask if I have put cream into it, but no, it's just a very simple, calorie low, nutrient high, taste sensation solution to a zucchini glut.

For another variation, I cook up some puy lentils with ground cumin, coriander, ginger, chilli and garam masala, adding enough water to cook them till tender and more like a thick pellety gravy then add a generous dollop to the soup. This gives a bigger spice hit and a bit of texture to the velvetyness.

Frozen into portion size containers, these are really appreciated on cold dark nights and are a boon when I'm running too late to pack lunch. A couple of minutes in the microwave at work and I'm enjoying a delicious low calorie lunch.